Well I'm a happy Bunny.....

Today, I've just received a new mobile phone - a HTC Desire HD - & boy ! what HAVE I been missing....
HTC-Desire-HD-167x300.jpg

First - A bit of Mobile History...
... I had a Nokia 5800 'Comes With music' (Got it free 'cos I won it in a Coca-Cola competition a couple of years back) & got fed up with it being sooooo slow in opening Apps, annoying 'multikey pressing' - JUST to play some music & basically got totally p*ssed off with synching problems with OVI.
(for those that don't know just to play Music, you need to do 'Menu' > 'Music' > 'Music player' > 'All Songs' > 'Options' > 'Goto now Playing' > 'Play' The you get to listen to some Music)
Along with the so called 'Free' Apps from the store that were only free IF you had Ads showing (which costs me money as I'm on PAYG)

So when I heard Nokia went into partnership with Microsoft - Well, that was the straw that broke the camels back (I just CAN'T image nokia phones running Windows mobiles OS) & I went & decided on a change

After a lot of looking around @ the different Android phones (there's no way I'll get an Iphone) - the Desire HD fitted 90% of what I wanted, which was basically a phone with similar features as the 5800 - but better (ie 'Better' camera, 'better' memory etc)

Apart from the 'Have to pay for HTC Navigation Licence' cost (although ~£30 for a Lifecycle licences doesn't seem to bad - if by 'lifecycle' they mean as long as I own the phone) & the possibility of a 'short battery life' (which isn't much of a problem as my phones always get a 'topup' when I'm in the car) - I think I haven't done to bad....
Especially when I also managed to get it ~£320 (Carphonewarehouse was/is selling same phone as a PAYG for £449.95 + £10 SIM :O )

Now onto the phone - it's speedy on scrolling, Pictures seem sharper than the ones I took on the Nokia, Free Apps a-plenty (Just trying to choose WHICH apps to try out is gonna be a problem) - although there are some that still have 'Ads' in them, it seems IF I 'turn off' the APN/3G the Ads disappear but you can still play the game, so a 'APN toggle' is one App I've already installed

Still some 'setting up' to do (Emails etc) - but I think I've made a good choice IMHO...

... The only downside I've found so far - I totally HATE the 'HTC Sync' tool.
I want my 'Movies'/'Music'/'Pictures' & docs stored on the memory card on the root in the folders 'movie'/'music' etc - BUT on the PC I have them stored in folders like 'D :\HTC Sync\Movies' or
D :\HTC Sync\Music' etc - but the Sync tool stores them as folders-inside-folders-inside folders like
Code: 
Movies
	!
	!-D
	!	!
	!	!-HTC Sync
	!	!		 !
	!	!		 !- Documents
Music
	!
	!-D
		!
		!-HTC Sync
		!		 !
		!		 !- Music
Why ?!?!?

Still got a lot to learn about it - I've only just figured out how to 'uninstall' Apps - but still it seems to have a easier 'learning curve' than when I used the 5800 (I haven't once even LOOKED at the manual or searched online for any guide for this phone, unlike what I had to do with the Nokia)

Comments

G
When I first read the title, I thought someone else got a 3DS, I was wrong. :) Is the touch screen easy to use ?
 
CannonFoddr
A lot easier than the Nokia IMHO -

The only thing is it doesn't register presses if you use a Stylus - you NEED to use your fingers
 
Edgedancer
I personally dont have an issue with the 5800. I have been using it close on a year now and still love it. That said, I am glad you are happy with your new phone.
 
ProtoKun7
[quote name='CannonFoddr' post='3543386' date='Mar 25 2011, 08:24 PM']The only thing is it doesn't register presses if you use a Stylus - you NEED to use your fingers[/quote]
Capacitive screen; that's normal for most higher-end phones now.

Also, was that Coca-Cola or a Pepsi competition?
 
CannonFoddr
[quote name='ProtoKun7' post='3543490' date='Mar 25 2011, 08:57 PM'][quote name='CannonFoddr' post='3543386' date='Mar 25 2011, 08:24 PM']The only thing is it doesn't register presses if you use a Stylus - you NEED to use your fingers[/quote]
Capacitive screen; that's normal for most higher-end phones now.

Also, was that Coca-Cola or a Pepsi competition?[/quote]Actually I think it was Pepsi now that I try to properly remember....
If I remember right - All I had to do was type in the code under the ringpull onto a webpage, give a Email address - & the following day I got a reply of 'Congratulations'

I THINK it was a promotion of 'Win a 5800 every hour' or something
 
CannonFoddr
Well the next thing I'm thinking about is 'rooting' it, just so that I can have Ad-free programs without having to disable my WiFi and mobile data connections,
but looking @ the guides for rooting the HTC Desire HD seems rather complicated to me

The one thing that DOES seem simple is something called 'VISIONary' that can do a temporary root - & it seems the phone stays 'rooted' unless you switch it off, & I was wondering - could I use this to root the phone & then use 'adfree' app to remove the ads ??

(Just found out that Visionary is not avaliable from the android store now)

EDIT: Well I managed to find a copy of 'VISIONary' to download, & used the 'TempRoot' function (which I was right - it will 'attempt to temproot the device... root will be lost after reboot') - then installed the 'AdFree' app

Weird thing is that it DOES block the ads - but only for a few minutes then for some reason the Ads come back....
If I uninstall it & reinstall - same thing - first few minutes, no Ads then they come back....

Found another 'tip' though
- Now that I have a 'TempRoot' access - I can install 'DroidWall' (a firewall), then I let everything BUT the programs with Ads in them (i.e Angry birds etc) access to the 'WiFi' & '3G', effectively blocking the web access. That seems to work ATM - just means I can't 'submit' any high scores.

Not seen anything majorly wrong yet - have noticed a slight 'unresponsiveness' when pressing - but THAT could be because of the screen protector I've put on - meaning I need to press a 'little harder'

Perhaps later along the line I'll may just try the 'PermRoot' function of 'VISIONary' - but not just right now

EDIT #2: oops maybe spoke to soon - a few times now I've had the phone being VERY unresponsive - I tap an icon & it registers (phone vibrates) but then it take a while before it starts up.. & when I mean start up I mean it stays on the starting screen.
Other times I start up & start playing, but then the game 'stutters' at start of game... although it does seem to settle later.

I hope it's not because of the 'Temproot' or 'DroidWall' :unsure: & it's part of the Android's 'memory managing'
 
ProtoKun7
[quote name='CannonFoddr' post='3543655' date='Mar 25 2011, 10:06 PM'][quote name='ProtoKun7' post='3543490' date='Mar 25 2011, 08:57 PM'][quote name='CannonFoddr' post='3543386' date='Mar 25 2011, 08:24 PM']The only thing is it doesn't register presses if you use a Stylus - you NEED to use your fingers[/quote]
Capacitive screen; that's normal for most higher-end phones now.

Also, was that Coca-Cola or a Pepsi competition?[/quote]Actually I think it was Pepsi now that I try to properly remember....
If I remember right - All I had to do was type in the code under the ringpull onto a webpage, give a Email address - & the following day I got a reply of 'Congratulations'

I THINK it was a promotion of 'Win a 5800 every hour' or something
[/quote]
Yeah, I think it was Pepsi Max. I remember the same competition.
 

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