The Mobile Phone Thread - Queries, decisions, discussions all here

vivekiny2k · 28th October 2010, 18:27

So I ordered an HTC touch pro for 199 USD. sold by unlockedcellphonekings, fulfilled by amazon. I have a strong hunch it's refurbished. But at this price I took a chance anyway. They have sightly quirky return policies than amazon but still for a month period. I hope I don't have to use that option.

Amazon.com: HTC Touch Pro Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, Windows Mobile 6.1, Wi-Fi, GPS, and MicroSD Slot--International Version with No Warranty (Black): Cell Phones & Accessories

I don't consider myself a frequent phone changer/heavy user, nor do I go after the most expensive phones, but after I broke screen and charger port of my N85, I had been looking for a new phone. After owning a pocket PC in 2004, finally I got a WM phone. I had been eyeing them even before they were released (an HP IPAQ model to start with), wondering why it took so long.

back to touch pro, I hear TAEL is the best ROM with WM6.5, any suggestions/experiences?

lazybrain · 28th October 2010, 18:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

back to touch pro, I hear TAEL is the best ROM with WM6.5, any suggestions/experiences?

I have installed WM 6.5 on my HTC P3452 with cooked ROM and it works like a charm. It previously had pre-installed WM 6.0 which i used to hate.

Its best to install cooked ROM rather than a specific version. In my knowledge each and every ROM will have some bugs or the other. Experts in this area cooks best ROM removing all the bugs.

xda developers will be able to help you better.

Overall you have a taken a good decision of buying Touch Pro. Its an excellent smart phone. Congratulations!

Ram · 29th October 2010, 07:43

Hi friends:

Got my Nokia N8 in metallic Tangerine Orange as fancied and planned in advance. Always wanted my mobile to look different from the hundreds of silver and black phones of all brands that people carry.

In India at the present time, the tangerine-orange, lime-green and blue N8s can only be purchased from the Nokia Priority shops. The generic mom-and-pop mobile stores only sell the silver and dark-grey models -- and usually at cheaper prices.

One of the first things I did was transfer 1,485 contacts and 1,871 messages from my N82 to the new N8. I also had 2,581 photographs in a SanDisk microSDHC card in the N82. The N8 did the transfer effortlessly albeit slowly over BlueTooth.

Inserted this microSDHC card in the N8, its indexing system needed to re-index. The N8, displayed a message, "Refreshing your media"

Love the Nokia call quality, the build quality and solid metal feel of the N8 and its pole-position camera. The capacitive touch screen is very responsive and good and the sound out of the speaker on the back is strong.

Installed Opera Mobile 10 browser in the new N8.

Enjoyed playing the DVD quality full-length movie, "The Italian Job (1969)" on the Nokia N8, out of a simple USB pen drive (Transcend 8GB). (1 hr 39 min 30 sec)
Nokia calls it USB on the go.

Check this out.

YouTube - Nokia N8 plays a 720p movie out of a USB pen drive.

It's a 720p HD video out of my Canon SX10-IS, of a 720p HD video being played by a Nokia N8, out of a plain vanilla USB pen drive.

Plan to get a 32 GB microSDHC flash memory card from SanDisk or Kingston.

Ram (Just my opinion)

rohan_iitr · 29th October 2010, 10:12

^^ Congratulations on acquiring the N8 !

N8 is really a worthy successor to N82, especially in the camera department.

USB on the go is a great feature, wonder why it took them so long to provide it.

How is the sensitivity of the capacitive touch screen as compared to iphone or Galaxy S ?

Rohan

navin · 29th October 2010, 10:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

^^ Congratulations on acquiring the N8 !

N8 is really a worthy successor to N82, especially in the camera department.

my wife really liked the phone but the touch screen keyboard is not user friendly for us oldies.

Thad E Ginathom · 29th October 2010, 10:46

I have never yet used a touch screen phone, but I wonder if anything can be worse than the N82 keypad! I have disliked it ever since I bought it.

My main dislike of Nokia phones is lack of customisation and illogical menu structure. I want to be able to put the two or three things that I use on the main display, or at least on a top level menu. I may be able to enter Maps by one dedicated key, but the other GPS stuff is under tools->connectivity: what sort of nonsense is that? I never use the internet on my phone, yet I am stuck with WLAN scan, internet search, and share content on the main screen. The icons at the top can be chosen, but only from a very limited selection.

All this stuff seems quite contrary to any sort of decent, friendly interface design. Is Nokia improving? Is the N8 any better in this respect?

Ram... the film looks very impressive

rohan_iitr · 29th October 2010, 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by navin

my wife really liked the phone but the touch screen keyboard is not user friendly for us oldies.

What has age of user got to do with touch screen response ? I couldn't get what you were trying to say.

If you are not comfortable using the on-screen QWERTY keyboard, you can always use the on-screen alpha numeric keyboard in portrait mode. Its layout is similar to the normal keypad in non-touch screen handsets.

Rohan

arunkk · 29th October 2010, 11:25

Congrats Ram for your N8. Its been a long anticipated phone and good to know its living to its initial hype.

schitre05 · 29th October 2010, 17:05

I really liked the HTC Wildfire. My brother will be buying that phone from UAE now does buying from UAE create any problems in the working of the phone, for eg. will there be a problem in the functioning of the Android market or any apps?

Ram · 29th October 2010, 18:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

^^ Congratulations on acquiring the N8 !
How is the sensitivity of the capacitive touch screen as compared to iphone or Galaxy S ?
Rohan

Thanks Rohan. Haven't been able to compare with the iPhone and Galaxy S yet. My son owns an iPhone 3GS and works on Galaxy S software (professionally).

Quote:

Originally Posted by navin

my wife really liked the phone but the touch screen keyboard is not user friendly for us oldies.

I will be 53 in December 2010, navin and don't feel old at all.
Touch screens take a teensy bit getting used to, then it's smooth-sailing. And the device provides tactile feedback with a tiny shake when it detects a touch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

My main dislike of Nokia phones is lack of customisation and illogical menu structure. I want to be able to put the two or three things that I use on the main display, or at least on a top level menu. I may be able to enter Maps by one dedicated key, but the other GPS stuff is under tools->connectivity: what sort of nonsense is that?

The Nokia N8 lends itself quit well to customization.
Here's the main display, one of the three home screens.

Symbian ^3 gives you three customizable home screens.
You can set up any kind of shortcuts on these different home screens – icons for launching apps, shortcuts, bookmarks to the internet, GPS stuff, ...

I have the three people I call most often, common applications used, The latest apps from the Ovi store, in case I want to download and install them.
And Nokia social, which logs me into my facebook and twitter accounts and any other choices of social networks.

The Mobile Phone Thread - Queries, decisions, discussions all here-customhomescreen.jpg

Ram

vivekiny2k · 29th October 2010, 18:57

which reminds me (and not bout any phone in specific), I had to go to the basic menu because the stuff kept eclipsing my wallpaper. Now all I want is available thru shortcuts on keys rather than visual menus on screen.

@Thad, you can choose basic menu which will get rid of all your unwanted stuff. you can have upto 7 quick shortcuts with four navigational keys, select key and two keys on each side of the screen. you can see radio, recorder and clock, and on four keys I have calendar, contacts, gmail, and bluetooth.

and then I have rearranged other icons on the root menu to only have the ones I need. Restricted number to 12 so they never get scrolled up or down and work as a static menu.

taken from my laptop webcam.

The Mobile Phone Thread - Queries, decisions, discussions all here-photo_00004.jpg

Thad E Ginathom · 30th October 2010, 00:06

I think your N85 gives you more control than my N82

Thanks, Ram, I like the look of that N8 phone, but, at the moment, have washing machine, new computer, and a trip to Singapore, higher on the budget priorities list. By the time I'm ready to buy, price might have come down, or the next new thing may be available. I even have to decide whether to stick with Nokia or not when the time comes.

lazybrain · 30th October 2010, 00:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I even have to decide whether to stick with Nokia or not when the time comes.

well i have taken this decision long back

. I was once upon a time big time fan of Nokia but once i started using Android based, Windows mobile (WM) based phones i never looked back since symbian/NOS sucks. Believe me WM and android based OS are so addictive that you will never prefer symbian OS again. IMO other than that, needless to mention battery life and build quality of Nokia is unbeatable and no wonder they are still the world leaders in mobile world in spite of having average OS

Thad E Ginathom · 30th October 2010, 01:42

I'm not surprised. Nokia threw away its world leadership, and got lost in crazy management styles --- we can read about that stuff on the technical forums.

Quote:

no wonder they are still the world leaders in mobile world in spite of having average OS

Possibly not in the future. Let's hope they do recover!

NetfreakBombay · 30th October 2010, 08:41

Saw advert for Android phones from Videocon. Has anyone tried that?

28th October 2010, 18:27	#7186
vivekiny2k Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: cincinnati, jabalpur,chennai Posts: 1,264 Thanked: 211 Times View My Garage	So I ordered an HTC touch pro for 199 USD. sold by unlockedcellphonekings, fulfilled by amazon. I have a strong hunch it's refurbished. But at this price I took a chance anyway. They have sightly quirky return policies than amazon but still for a month period. I hope I don't have to use that option. Amazon.com: HTC Touch Pro Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, Windows Mobile 6.1, Wi-Fi, GPS, and MicroSD Slot--International Version with No Warranty (Black): Cell Phones & Accessories I don't consider myself a frequent phone changer/heavy user, nor do I go after the most expensive phones, but after I broke screen and charger port of my N85, I had been looking for a new phone. After owning a pocket PC in 2004, finally I got a WM phone. I had been eyeing them even before they were released (an HP IPAQ model to start with), wondering why it took so long. back to touch pro, I hear TAEL is the best ROM with WM6.5, any suggestions/experiences?
	() Thanks

29th October 2010, 10:12	#7189
rohan_iitr Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,131 Thanked: 822 Times	^^ Congratulations on acquiring the N8 ! N8 is really a worthy successor to N82, especially in the camera department. USB on the go is a great feature, wonder why it took them so long to provide it. How is the sensitivity of the capacitive touch screen as compared to iphone or Galaxy S ? Rohan
	() Thanks

29th October 2010, 10:46	#7191
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,150 Thanked: 27,844 Times	I have never yet used a touch screen phone, but I wonder if anything can be worse than the N82 keypad! I have disliked it ever since I bought it. My main dislike of Nokia phones is lack of customisation and illogical menu structure. I want to be able to put the two or three things that I use on the main display, or at least on a top level menu. I may be able to enter Maps by one dedicated key, but the other GPS stuff is under tools->connectivity: what sort of nonsense is that? I never use the internet on my phone, yet I am stuck with WLAN scan, internet search, and share content on the main screen. The icons at the top can be chosen, but only from a very limited selection. All this stuff seems quite contrary to any sort of decent, friendly interface design. Is Nokia improving? Is the N8 any better in this respect? Ram... the film looks very impressive
	() Thanks

29th October 2010, 11:25	#7193
arunkk BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 186 Thanked: 42 Times	Congrats Ram for your N8. Its been a long anticipated phone and good to know its living to its initial hype.
	() Thanks

29th October 2010, 17:05	#7194
schitre05 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 457 Thanked: 176 Times View My Garage	I really liked the HTC Wildfire. My brother will be buying that phone from UAE now does buying from UAE create any problems in the working of the phone, for eg. will there be a problem in the functioning of the Android market or any apps?
	() Thanks

29th October 2010, 18:57	#7196
vivekiny2k Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: cincinnati, jabalpur,chennai Posts: 1,264 Thanked: 211 Times View My Garage	which reminds me (and not bout any phone in specific), I had to go to the basic menu because the stuff kept eclipsing my wallpaper. Now all I want is available thru shortcuts on keys rather than visual menus on screen. @Thad, you can choose basic menu which will get rid of all your unwanted stuff. you can have upto 7 quick shortcuts with four navigational keys, select key and two keys on each side of the screen. you can see radio, recorder and clock, and on four keys I have calendar, contacts, gmail, and bluetooth. and then I have rearranged other icons on the root menu to only have the ones I need. Restricted number to 12 so they never get scrolled up or down and work as a static menu. taken from my laptop webcam.
	() Thanks

30th October 2010, 00:06	#7197
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,150 Thanked: 27,844 Times	I think your N85 gives you more control than my N82 Thanks, Ram, I like the look of that N8 phone, but, at the moment, have washing machine, new computer, and a trip to Singapore, higher on the budget priorities list. By the time I'm ready to buy, price might have come down, or the next new thing may be available. I even have to decide whether to stick with Nokia or not when the time comes. Last edited by Thad E Ginathom : 30th October 2010 at 00:08.
	() Thanks

30th October 2010, 08:41	#7200
NetfreakBombay Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,477 Thanked: 1,067 Times	Saw advert for Android phones from Videocon. Has anyone tried that?
	() Thanks