# HTC Desire - tips, chat, fixes, recomended Android apps



## Callum91 (Jun 14, 2010)

I recently purchased a HTC Desire on Orange and for the first day or two it worked perfectly , no problems at all. 
But it recently seems to have developed a problem in sending SMS and phone calls. The sigal indicator is at around 3 bars but every other SMS sent always fails , then 20 minutes later sends it twice and it gives me 2 replies back. With phone calls it occasionally allows me to ring someone or receive a phone call but it then cuts off.

Is this likely to be a hardware/SIM card problem? I can't see it being a network issue because the Orange reception in my area is quite good.

Any help will be greatly appreciated as I just want to sort of know what could be wrong before I take it back tomorrow.


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## editor (Jun 14, 2010)

It could be your network: have you tried calling tech support?
Oh and try restarting the phone if you haven't done that yet.


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## Callum91 (Jun 14, 2010)

Yeah I've restarted my phone and the problem still persists. I've not yet called tech support but I'll be going back to the Orange shop tomorrow so I'll imagine they'll be able to sort it out. 

What's annoying me most is that it's ruining the experience of an otherwise brilliant device!


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## editor (Jun 14, 2010)

I've just got mine today and so far I'm very impressed!


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## Citizen66 (Jun 15, 2010)

I should be getting one soonish. Have they improved upon the hero's battery life does anyone know?


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## joustmaster (Jun 15, 2010)

i get between 12 and 36 hours out of mine. depends what i do with it.

there is talk about conditioning your battery by running till its flat then charging with out switching it on, for the first few days.


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## revol68 (Jun 15, 2010)

I shall be ordering one of these tomo, is 500mb a month data limit enough?


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## editor (Jun 15, 2010)

revol68 said:


> I shall be ordering one of these tomo, is 500mb a month data limit enough?


I think it should be, but that big lush screen positively _invites_ you to keep on looking at videos! So long as you use wi-fi a bit at home and not just 3G I reckon you'll be fine.


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## joustmaster (Jun 15, 2010)

there is a useful application called something like Data Counter Widget, that sits on your desktop tellin you how much data you used this month.


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## revol68 (Jun 15, 2010)

editor said:


> I think it should be, but that big lush screen positively _invites_ you to keep on looking at videos! So long as you use wi-fi a bit at home and not just 3G I reckon you'll be fine.



ah yeah forgot about using my own wifi network

i guess i can load tv programs in .avi format onto the memory card and watch them with no problems?


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## editor (Jun 15, 2010)

Anyone know how I set up the unified inbox?

At the moment I've only set up the GMail mailbox, but would like to add other POP3 accounts.

(I've renamed the thread to a more general HTC Desire chat/help one seeing as so many people here seem to be getting one)


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## editor (Jun 15, 2010)

And to get the thread going - I recommend:

Barcode scanner (grab apps by pointing your phone at the screen - free
Catch That Bus - times of the next bus £1.79
London journey - useful bus/tube/train timetable router
National Rail - ace app for train times £4.99
Foursquare/Gowalla - for al that social network shite - free
Photoshop Mobile - free
Seesmic - great Twitter client - free
Tapatalk Pro - post on urban, easy peasy! (free version available)
TV Guide - TV listings - free
White Noise Lite - nod off to sleep to the sound of rain, trains etc - free


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## joustmaster (Jun 15, 2010)

editor said:


> Anyone know how I set up the unified inbox?
> 
> At the moment I've only set up the GMail mailbox, but would like to add other POP3 accounts.
> 
> (I've renamed the thread to a more general HTC Desire chat/help one seeing as so many people here seem to be getting one)



Launch Mail, clcik the menu button, then select more, new account.
then you can set up as many pop3 or imap you like.
you can also stick the mail widget on your "desktop" so it shows you a total of unread emails.


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## editor (Jun 15, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> Launch Mail, clcik the menu button, then select more, new account.
> then you can set up as many pop3 or imap you like.
> you can also stick the mail widget on your "desktop" so it shows you a total of unread emails.


Cheers but how do I get the GMail mail into this one inbox and disable the GMail account going into the other box. Or is that done automatically?


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## joustmaster (Jun 15, 2010)

ah right. so you dont want to use the gmail mail app..
there are some sync options if, from the home screen, you do - menu - settings - accounts and sync.
you can then disable the mail stuff from the gmail app i think.
then set up a gmail imap account in the normal mail app.


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## joustmaster (Jun 15, 2010)

instructions for imap to gmail
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77695


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## bmd (Jun 15, 2010)

revol68 said:


> ah yeah forgot about using my own wifi network
> 
> i guess i can load tv programs in .avi format onto the memory card and watch them with no problems?



It doesn't play avi natively, you need to convert them to mp4 format. 

Free converter.

eta: the 2.2 update may have support for DivX.


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## ohmyliver (Jun 15, 2010)

I like the official Twitter client for Android, but I do wish I could use the htc peep widget with it. Does seesmic allow you to see what's trending? Htc Peep doesn't. Bad Peep. 

It automatically puts your gmail mail in the gmail app, and any pop3/exchange mail into the mail app. *eta* note to self: read thread properly before posting you idiot.   But I prefer to have my pop3/exchange email in one inbox, and my gmail in another. Work seeps into enough of my life... 

I like camera ZOOM fx (their odd capitalisation, honest), and I'm starting to like the Dolphin HD browser with it's gestures and tabbed browsing.


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## ohmyliver (Jun 15, 2010)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> It doesn't play avi natively, you need to convert them to mp4 format.
> 
> Free converter.



Prefer to convert them to 3gp as you can get a whole film down to about 100 megs.


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## joustmaster (Jun 15, 2010)

yxflash application is meant to play xvid and divx


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## Citizen66 (Jun 15, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> i get between 12 and 36 hours out of mine. depends what i do with it.



I get about 7 hours battery with my hero but I hammer the net at work with it...

Obviously it lasts a lot longer than that if I don't, but that's what I use it for.


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## Redeyes (Jun 15, 2010)

I've had my Desire for a couple of months now and after endless tinkering have decided to go with Launcher Pro and stop using the Sense launcher.

I just couldn't fill up all 7 homescreens with useful things so by using Launcher Pro I can cut the home screens down to 5 and just have stuff on them that I'll actually use.

I also prefer the way I can have my contacts, SMS and email apps always on hand at the bottom of the screen.







So far I haven't gone over my 500mb per month allowance, 79% used this month with a week to go...

Using Swype for my keybaord and really liking it, took a day or so to get used to it but it's worth the intial hassle. Impossible to use when drunk though, you can still 'tap' type though if you need to without switching keyboards so it's not entirely useless when your hand eye coordination has gone to pot.

Using Handcent for SMS and K-9 for email.


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## marty21 (Jun 15, 2010)

Citizen66 said:


> I should be getting one soonish. Have they improved upon the hero's battery life does anyone know?



I have the hero   it's a  great phone but I have to charge it everyday


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## ohmyliver (Jun 15, 2010)

@redeyes 

that requires a warantee invalidating root of the desire?


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## revol68 (Jun 15, 2010)

Just got my confirmation email, my Desire should be here tomorrow!

The worst thing is that I'm most excited about the 3.5mm headphone jack, no more looking like a twat using a silly convertor stuck out the top of my nokia.

Does it come with headphones btw?


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## ohmyliver (Jun 15, 2010)

yes, yes it does. they double as a hands free thingy as well.  I find them good enough for my listening to stuff on the 68 as it flows through south London needs.  But I'm not an audiophile.


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## Citizen66 (Jun 15, 2010)

We're all just massive consumerists really.


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## Elvis Parsley (Jun 15, 2010)

come on then, hands up....who left the "urban 75" comment in the marketplace about the tube map?


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## Redeyes (Jun 15, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> @redeyes
> 
> that requires a warantee invalidating root of the desire?



No it doesn't, I did the screen cap using my non rooted Desire via this method...

How to take screenshots without rooting


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## ohmyliver (Jun 15, 2010)

Cool, can you install the launcher/other desktop without rooting?



Redeyes said:


> No it doesn't, I did the screen cap using my non rooted Desire via this method...
> 
> How to take screenshots without rooting


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## Redeyes (Jun 15, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> Cool, can you install the launcher/other desktop without rooting?



Yep. Like I said I haven't rooted my phone and I'm running Launcher Pro. If you also install Home Switcher you can then switch between the Sense launcher and the Launcher Pro one whenever you want easily.

As far as I know the other launchers/desktops work without rooting too.


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## bmd (Jun 15, 2010)

Can't really see what the appeal of Launcher Pro is in comparison to the Sense UI. I don't like the graphics on the widgets and apps at all.

I had Swype and loved it but I got a notification today that the beta had run out and its stopped working.


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## ooo (Jun 15, 2010)

I'm liking the Desire so far.
The pinch zoom in/out on home pages is useful.

Apps I recommend:
Goggles - image search is fantastic!
Google Translate
Last.fm as I don't have Spotify Premium 
Currency Converter
Friend Stream
Google Sky Map
Urban Dictionary for boredom
Tube


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## ohmyliver (Jun 15, 2010)

you must be using a different version of google goggles than me. It's mostly rubbish at working out what anything is that doesn't have a corporate logo.


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## ooo (Jun 15, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> you must be using a different version of google goggles than me. It's mostly rubbish at working out what anything is that doesn't have a corporate logo.



It works well so far with books, dvds, business cards for me.


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## Callum91 (Jun 15, 2010)

Nobody else experiencing SMS/phone call issues then? ( along with wi-fi and 3G issues but they are less annoying than the basic phone stuff ) .


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## revol68 (Jun 15, 2010)

Anyone got any good game recommendations?


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## bmd (Jun 15, 2010)

revol68 said:


> Anyone got any good game recommendations?



You can get snes, megadrive and gameboy emulators for it. Apart from that I don't really know many. I've got one called Zenonia atm and it looks like it could be quite good. It's a Final Fantasy-type RPG.


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## Boris Sprinkler (Jun 15, 2010)

Getting mine tomorrow.


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## madamv (Jun 15, 2010)

No problems here Callum....

I got mine last week, I love it.   I dont think I know how to use it properly though, and it took me four hours to figure out how to get music onto it.  I still dont know how I did it, I think it takes a little while for the micro card to update and put onto the phone properly.

Apps I have used so far...

BBC News
NY times
Audiobooks...  listen to a book being read (by a non professional= slight drawback)
Calorie Counter
Geo quiz
Google Sky Map
Have downloaded but not used Ringdroid yet...  Puts your track as a ringtone..

So much to figure out for a girl with very little brain...


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## joustmaster (Jun 15, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Nobody else experiencing SMS/phone call issues then? ( along with wi-fi and 3G issues but they are less annoying than the basic phone stuff ) .



i had a problem sending picture messages, but that was down to the app in the end.

your problem sounds like it is to do with reception. So probably best to take it back to the shop


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## ohmyliver (Jun 15, 2010)

You can set an mp3 as a ring tone from the stock music player by pressing the menu button while an mp3 is playing  and selecting set as ringtone. What other features does ringdroid offer?

Gamewise I've been playing robodefense. Eta the games put out by camel games are good in a a novel puzzle game way.


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## ooo (Jun 15, 2010)

The reason why I'd prefer an iPhone over the Desire is the voice memo quality.
The iPhone one is far superior and that's important for me as I record my classes.
The sound quality on the Desire voice recorder is rather horrible


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## joustmaster (Jun 15, 2010)

ooo said:


> The reason why I'd prefer an iPhone over the Desire is the voice memo quality.
> The iPhone one is far superior and that's important for me as I record my classes.
> The sound quality on the Desire voice recorder is rather horrible



just use a different app with some quality settings 
over all i have found the in call sound clarity better on the desire than iphone


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## madamv (Jun 15, 2010)

Havent had to check that ooo.....
I just deleted the ringdroid app, ohmyliver.  It is supposed to enable you to cut your track for the ring tone, but it didnt offer that....  

Crap, now I have to find a track with a good opening bar for my ringtone...


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## editor (Jun 15, 2010)

The voice call quality is considerably better than the iPhone*. I've never used the voice memo thing.

*based on four calls today in three different locations


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## ooo (Jun 15, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> just use a different app with some quality settings
> over all i have found the in call sound clarity better on the desire than iphone



oh?!
Which app do you recommend to download?
(I use native voice memo apps on both phones)


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## ooo (Jun 15, 2010)

I've just done a quick search on voice memo apps on Marketplace.
Haven't seen one with settings.
I reckon it wouldn't make much difference even if it had.


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## ChrisFilter (Jun 15, 2010)

editor; said:
			
		

> The voice call quality is considerably better than the iPhone*. I've never used the voice memo thing.
> 
> *based on four calls today in three different locations



It certainly is. Better reception in patchy areas too.


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## Callum91 (Jun 15, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> i had a problem sending picture messages, but that was down to the app in the end.
> 
> your problem sounds like it is to do with reception. So probably best to take it back to the shop



Thing is , the reception in my house is generally good ( about 3 bars ) and my old Blackberry Curve 8900 never ever had any reception problems whatsoever. Think it could be SIM card related?


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## joustmaster (Jun 15, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Thing is , the reception in my house is generally good ( about 3 bars ) and my old Blackberry Curve 8900 never ever had any reception problems whatsoever. Think it could be SIM card related?



yeah, i mean the problem could well be with the phone. some thing is messing with its receiving of signal, like the sim.


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## joustmaster (Jun 15, 2010)

ooo said:


> oh?!
> Which app do you recommend to download?
> (I use native voice memo apps on both phones)



no idea.
just try a few, or hunt out some reviews.


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## editor (Jun 15, 2010)

ooo said:


> I've just done a quick search on voice memo apps on Marketplace.
> Haven't seen one with settings.
> I reckon it wouldn't make much difference even if it had.


Some voice recorders:

http://tapemachine.samalyse.com/

http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.mp1.livorec

http://urbanstew.org/rehearsalassistant/#Rehearsal_Assistant_for_the_Android_mobile_phone

http://www.softxperience.mobi/23-1-Note-Everything.html

http://droidfanz.com/appz/145-hifi-mp3-ogg-audio-recorder.html


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## wtfftw (Jun 16, 2010)

madamv said:


> Havent had to check that ooo.....
> I just deleted the ringdroid app, ohmyliver.  It is supposed to enable you to cut your track for the ring tone, but it didnt offer that....
> 
> Crap, now I have to find a track with a good opening bar for my ringtone...



Nah. In the standard music player you can make a track your ringtone AND chop it down. Hours of fun


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## Gingerman (Jun 16, 2010)

I can send e-mails but not recieve them on my HTC


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## joustmaster (Jun 16, 2010)

Gingerman said:


> I can send e-mails but not recieve them on my HTC



what email provider are you using? its probably just a config mistake.


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## revol68 (Jun 16, 2010)

so my desirearrived an hour or so ago and i'm very impressed, been setting it up mostly and fucking around with a few apps.

any recommendations, can't find the beebplayer on the market.


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## wtfftw (Jun 16, 2010)

revol68 said:


> so my desirearrived an hour or so ago and i'm very impressed, been setting it up mostly and fucking around with a few apps.
> 
> any recommendations, can't find the beebplayer on the market.



Try mplayer


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## editor (Jun 16, 2010)

m.tvcatchup.com in your browser is good for live TV.


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## editor (Jun 16, 2010)

*HTC Desire - tips, chat, fixes, recomended apps*



editor said:


> m.tvcatchup.com in your browser is good for live TV.


Ah, that's the wrong address: it worked for my Palm though. I'll see if I can find the right one later.


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## wtfftw (Jun 16, 2010)

Same address I use.


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## ChrisFilter (Jun 16, 2010)

ipod.tvcatchup.com works on the Desire.


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## madamv (Jun 16, 2010)

drag0n said:


> Nah. In the standard music player you can make a track your ringtone AND chop it down. Hours of fun



Ooh can i? Should have read this thread before downloading 'how soon is now' for 3.50! Poop


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## wtfftw (Jun 16, 2010)

madamv said:


> Ooh can i? Should have read this thread before downloading 'how soon is now' for 3.50! Poop


Yep.  In the music thing hit menu then set as ringtone then select trim (or some option involving trimming,  can't remember the wording). I spent ages setting mine up to the exact bit of a tune that makes me euphoric  

I'm under the impression you can get refunds on apps but I've not paid for anything so I might have dreamt that. 
Edit: refunds within 24 hours apparently pocket gamer instructions


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## Elvis Parsley (Jun 16, 2010)

BirdsUK is a nice app, if you're interested in British birds. For 56p you get the 50 most common bird calls and songs, 200 high quality pics, wiki info pages and a couple of identification quizzes.


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## Gingerman (Jun 16, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> what email provider are you using? its probably just a config mistake.



Hotmail


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## editor (Jun 16, 2010)

Bit miffed to find that GMail isn't pushed by default like it was with my iPhone and Palm Pre. Have I got to faff about with Exchange to give me pushed (or at least timed) downloads?


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2010)

editor said:


> Bit miffed to find that GMail isn't pushed by default like it was with my iPhone and Palm Pre. Have I got to faff about with Exchange to give me pushed (or at least timed) downloads?



Eh? No Gmail push on an Android phone?


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## editor (Jun 16, 2010)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Eh? No Gmail push on an Android phone?


Oh, hang on, Auto sync wasn't turned on. Let's see if that does it.

*edit: yep. My bad!


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2010)

editor said:


> Oh, hang on, Auto sync wasn't turned on. Let's see if that does it.
> 
> *edit: yep. My bad!



Aha!


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## editor (Jun 16, 2010)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Aha!


The settings were all a bit skewiff because I'm using an unlocked Orange phone on the 02 network but it's just about all set up now.


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## youbeauty (Jun 17, 2010)

Is there any way to make the browser always open on a home page? Whenever I open the browser (standard one which came with the phone) it just shows the last page I was looking at.


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## grit (Jun 17, 2010)

More a general Android question, anyone here rooted and gone to 2.2 yet?


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## bmd (Jun 17, 2010)

youbeauty said:


> Is there any way to make the browser always open on a home page? Whenever I open the browser (standard one which came with the phone) it just shows the last page I was looking at.



Have you tried setting a home page? If that doesn't work try restting it back to the default settings.


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## ohmyliver (Jun 17, 2010)

I think that it only goes to the home page if the browser has been closed. due to Android being what it is, the home page is an almost redundant concept. I'd just launch the browser via the bookmark of the page you've put as the home page the bookmark widget, if you have already have used the browser. or use a task killer to kill the browser and then launch it.


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## revol68 (Jun 17, 2010)

How do you actually close the web browser? Do you have to, does it use up resources and battery power if you dont. Actually the same applies to applications in general.

Loving the speed of the web browser via wifi!


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## revol68 (Jun 17, 2010)

Oops double post.


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## ohmyliver (Jun 17, 2010)

Good question, I think you press the back button enough times. Could well ne wrong though.



Does anyone use AppBrain? Web interface for the Market, allows you to push apps to your phone, recommends apps similar to what you've got installed, links to eviews of apps on Androidtapp and other review sites


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## madamv (Jun 17, 2010)

drag0n said:


> Yep.  In the music thing hit menu then set as ringtone then select trim (or some option involving trimming,  can't remember the wording). I spent ages setting mine up to the exact bit of a tune that makes me euphoric
> 
> I'm under the impression you can get refunds on apps but I've not paid for anything so I might have dreamt that.
> Edit: refunds within 24 hours apparently pocket gamer instructions



Nope... cant find it...  Pleeeeese talk me through it


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## wtfftw (Jun 17, 2010)

madamv said:


> Nope... cant find it...  Pleeeeese talk me through it


The ringtone bit?
Open the music application.
Have it so that the song you want as your ringtone is the current (Now Playing) song. Not actually playing- just sitting there.
Press the Menu button.
Select 'set as ringtone'
Next is 3 options. The third is trim the ringtone. Select it.
Now you should be faced with the ringtone trimmer.


I hope that's the instructions you wanted!


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## madamv (Jun 18, 2010)

I reckon its because its a wma file that its not giving me the third option... ie to trim it.   It only gives me set ringtone to phone or contact.....   Thats it.

I reckon when I get time to look at it properly, I will upload another track, I dont know how, and then ensure its not a wma file (whatever that is) and then be able to trim it...


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## revol68 (Jun 19, 2010)

Right is there anyway to stop my phone pushing on my gmail shit, a tech mate was saying that bitch chews thru the battery life?


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## wtfftw (Jun 19, 2010)

Do you have auto sync turned on?

I just use the gmail app and manually collect it when I get curious.


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## editor (Jun 19, 2010)

I'm pretty impressed with the camera - the flash is way better than I expected and in daylight the photos are good enough for some of day to day snaps. 

I didn't like having to push the trackpad as a shutter release as it introduced camera shake - but I've just discovered that if you touch the screen for a half a second or so and then let go (wherever you want to focus) it takes a picture that way. Sweet!


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## grit (Jun 19, 2010)

drag0n said:


> Do you have auto sync turned on?
> 
> I just use the gmail app and manually collect it when I get curious.



Same


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## Callum91 (Jun 19, 2010)

Is it just my Desire that gets quite hot after about 20 mins of 3G use?


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## jigotai (Jun 22, 2010)

I've managed to bugger up downloading apps from the market - updates don't work either. I don't know why this has happened, but I'd love any suggestions. I reckon I could get away with a factory reset, but I can't find that either! 
I've deleted some music to see if i had just run out of space, but that didn't work! 
Halpz...


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## Elvis Parsley (Jun 22, 2010)

from the manual:

for factory reset:
Press HOME > MENU, then tap Settings.
Scroll down the screen, and then tap Privacy > Factory data reset.
On the Factory data reset screen, tap Reset phone, and then tap Erase everything.

good luck sorting it out


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## jigotai (Jun 23, 2010)

Ta! Seems to have worked.
Now I can't find swype, but that's less important.


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## Boris Sprinkler (Jun 23, 2010)

my battery doesn't last long at all. 8 hours or so.
I have auto sync and background net turned off and gps is disabled.

I take a few photos, browse a few web pages, listen to music via headphones for about an hour and send a few texts maybe a couple of phone calls. Currently I am taking the charger wherever I go. It's annoying. My blackberry bold is on all the time and lasts for days with no charge.

Any tips


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## Elvis Parsley (Jun 23, 2010)

check for apps that tell you what's using all the battery up?


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## Callum91 (Jun 23, 2010)

The 3G connection is pissing me off. I have to either turn the phone on and off or keep fiddling with the airplane mode before 3G decides it wants to work. It's a pain in the arse 'cos my phone will only let me send sms/make phone calls when it's connected to the GSM auto (PRL) network type which resets everytime the phone is turned off/put into airplane mode.

Anyone know if these issues will be resolved in 2.2?


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## fogbat (Jun 24, 2010)

With any luck I may, finally, get my Desire next week. Buymobilephones, of the good-deal-that-I-can't-find-a-match-for-anywhere-else, are finally getting another delivery in


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## ohmyliver (Jun 24, 2010)

Elvis Parsley said:


> check for apps that tell you what's using all the battery up?




You can find that out by going to settings > about phone >.battery > battery usage


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## editor (Jun 24, 2010)

Boris Sprinkler said:


> my battery doesn't last long at all. 8 hours or so.
> I have auto sync and background net turned off and gps is disabled.
> 
> I take a few photos, browse a few web pages, listen to music via headphones for about an hour and send a few texts maybe a couple of phone calls. Currently I am taking the charger wherever I go. It's annoying. My blackberry bold is on all the time and lasts for days with no charge.
> ...


Just turn off stuff you're not using, lower the screen brightness and the auto-screen off: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...android-battery-life-how-to-improve-it-697772

I'm getting a day's use out of mine (about the same as my old 3GS, maybe a bit more) but all smartphones are rubbish for battery life.


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## ohmyliver (Jun 24, 2010)

I've noticed that taking photos kills the battery. Mebbe froyo will fix that when and if it turns up


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## Callum91 (Jun 24, 2010)

I've had 3 days battery use out of mine ( granted I only used the internet for about half an hour during those 3 days but I did send a fuck load of text messages ) .


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## Gromit (Jun 24, 2010)

Pray your Desire never goes wrong as HTC Customer Service is dreadful.

When I eventually managed to get them to schedule a collection (after 4 attempts) for my phone they neglected to send me the UPS label.

So UPS wouldn't take it.

Rang em. They said they'd send label and asked me to ask UPS to come again.

What they sent me didn't have label.

Rang again. Eventually got a label. UPS wouldn't come again that day.

Resheduled collection for 3 days later.

The document they send with the tracking link isn't a html document so you have to type it into a browser.

The references you need to enter into the tracking can not be cut n paste from the document either as its like a scanned doc.

Just got an email saying that repair is not covered by warrenty and asking for £120.

I just spend half hour talking in broken english to some call centre guy who couldn't pass me onto a manager or team leader or anyone because they were on lunch. I'm disputing it, he is going to send it for escalation and someone will get back to me.

How much are we going to bet that it will be down to me to contact them again to sort this out?


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## Caney (Jun 24, 2010)

Following the editors lead,well his thread I switched from iPhone 3GS to HTC desire.. also Steve Jobs dick was starting to hurt my arse 

I am on monthly contract with o2 iphone. I have a unlocked desire which I am loving the freedom it allows you 
But I can't get picture messaging (MMS) working at all
Internet,calls sms are all working but no mms

(Also followed ed to the GF1 ... how you finding the GF1 ed)


----------



## wtfftw (Jun 24, 2010)

I'm on o2 and can't send or receive mms either. I had forgotten about that.


----------



## editor (Jun 24, 2010)

Caney said:


> I am on monthly contract with o2 iphone. I have a unlocked desire which I am loving the freedom it allows you
> But I can't get picture messaging (MMS) working at all
> Internet,calls sms are all working but no mms
> 
> (Also followed ed to the GF1 ... how you finding the GF1 ed)


You need to give o2 a call and get them to set up MMS for you. It should be straightforward (I've had the same issue on just about every handset on every network I've ever used).

The GF-1 is working out just fine - I'll have loads of photos from Whitby to post up soon!


----------



## mack (Jun 24, 2010)

Might be worth doing a factory reset (back up first), the phone should then download the right settings automatically.


----------



## Boris Sprinkler (Jun 25, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> You can find that out by going to settings > about phone >.battery > battery usage



Thanks for this, turns out it was the layar (sic) app I had downloaded , which although it is an impressive bit of software it was using juice like something that uses a lot of something


----------



## Callum91 (Jun 27, 2010)

Are the task killers worth downloading?


----------



## fieryjack (Jun 28, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Are the task killers worth downloading?


for peace of mind and cathartic killing of stupid crap like the amazon mp3 application: yes. For actual utility: probably not. The forums are full of people to'ing and fro'ing on the issue... the consensus is that apps that appear to be left running aren't doing so in the same way that Windows applications would be. Their resource consumption is minimal and they'd automatically scale down/off if required.

I know this and yet still I kill.


----------



## grit (Jun 28, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Are the task killers worth downloading?



I've never bothered.


----------



## Callum91 (Jun 29, 2010)

Is there any way of turning off the clouds/snow/rain effect when you unlock the phone? It was nice at first but now it's just getting in the way.


----------



## revol68 (Jun 29, 2010)

Anyone know of an app for 4 on demand, also the myplayer app I have for iplayer is pretty shit quality, is there a better one?


----------



## editor (Jun 29, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Is there any way of turning off the clouds/snow/rain effect when you unlock the phone? It was nice at first but now it's just getting in the way.


You just have to get rid the widget and replace it with something less pointless.


----------



## Callum91 (Jun 29, 2010)

editor said:


> You just have to get rid the widget and replace it with something less pointless.



Ahh right cheers


----------



## mauvais (Jun 29, 2010)

I'm pretty sure there's a way to disable the animation but now I can't find it.

Now I have - if you remove it & add it again (it's Clock and then one of the later widget styles) then on the last page of setup, you can turn it off.


----------



## ohmyliver (Jun 29, 2010)

The beeb are working on an android ver of iplayer, I think. If you did a bit of rummaging down the back of the internet you might find the apk for the unofficial iplayer app, it's been taken off the Market. 

@callum91 choose a different clock by pressing on the clock until a blue online appears and drag it down and delete it then long press on the space where it was and add the HTC clock widget, you have 12 choices. One of 'em is the default one with weather. If you select this you'll have the option to switch off the weather animation. There is probably a less cumbersome way of doing it though


----------



## mauvais (Jun 29, 2010)

Oh, and I bought one, obviously.

Apps I like:


Guardian Anywhere
K-9 Mail
Shazam
WFMU
Google Goggles (bit shite though)
Layar
Gmote
Wifi Static
ZXing Barcode Scanner


----------



## editor (Jun 29, 2010)

mauvais said:


> Oh, and I bought one, obviously.
> 
> Apps I like:
> 
> ...


Have you tried MailDroid? That's supposed to be a better email client.
I'm using Newspaper for reading UK papers. It seems pretty nifty


----------



## ohmyliver (Jun 29, 2010)

Gmote looks interesting.   Google listen is worth getting, if you like podcasts.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 29, 2010)

Haven't tried that, no. Will have a look. I mostly care about getting IMAP (subfolders and all) in a timely manner, which the built in app isn't hot enough on.

Guardian Anywhere downloads pretty much all the paper overnight.

E2A: tried MailDroid, didn't work on my server over IMAP due to some weird TLS failure. Got it going over POP but wasn't that amazed. K9 does the trick for now.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 29, 2010)

Has anyone found (and tried!) anything for monitoring data usage, call time etc? I'd really have expected this to be built in - has been on every SE phone I've ever had.


----------



## editor (Jun 29, 2010)

mauvais said:


> Has anyone found (and tried!) anything for monitoring data usage, call time etc? I'd really have expected this to be built in - has been on every SE phone I've ever had.


There's a good chance that your network will provide that, otherwise - http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-googlecode-netsentry-qji.aspx


----------



## ohmyliver (Jun 29, 2010)

I use netcounter for data usage. Not sure about call time. I'm not even sure netcounter is accurate. I know there are other such utilities.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 29, 2010)

Ha, O2 PAYG? Not a chance sir.


----------



## joustmaster (Jun 29, 2010)

Caney said:


> Following the editors lead,well his thread I switched from iPhone 3GS to HTC desire.. also Steve Jobs dick was starting to hurt my arse
> 
> I am on monthly contract with o2 iphone. I have a unlocked desire which I am loving the freedom it allows you
> But I can't get picture messaging (MMS) working at all
> ...



install a different app for mms (something like handcent) to see if that works.


----------



## mwgdrwg (Jun 30, 2010)

editor said:


> There's a good chance that your network will provide that, otherwise - http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-googlecode-netsentry-qji.aspx



Orange have got the "Your Orange" app which does this.


----------



## editor (Jun 30, 2010)

NewsRob is the best RSS client I have ever used on any mobile platform, ever!

There's a free version, but I forked out a fiver for the full version - it's that good.


----------



## Boris Sprinkler (Jun 30, 2010)

mauvais said:


> Has anyone found (and tried!) anything for monitoring data usage, call time etc? I'd really have expected this to be built in - has been on every SE phone I've ever had.



I use 3g watchdog. Quite good, lets you set alarms etc. I actually set it to 500MB and I hit 450MB yesterday since the 17th of June. Feeling a bit peeved I went and rechecked my contract to see the cost if i went over. Turns out I have 10 GB.   

Nice.


----------



## mwgdrwg (Jun 30, 2010)

Even though I haven't got a Desire, I'm liking some of the app recommendations here...but shouldn't they go in the Android App thread?


----------



## editor (Jun 30, 2010)

mwgdrwg said:


> Even though I haven't got a Desire, I'm liking some of the app recommendations here...but shouldn't they go in the Android App thread?


They could do, but some apps won't work with older versions of Android, and the Desire is the *hot* phone right now!

*Let me amend the title slightly.....


----------



## mwgdrwg (Jun 30, 2010)

editor said:


> They could do, but some apps won't work with older versions of Android, and the Desire is the *hot* phone right now!
> 
> *Let me amend the title slightly.....



Slightly OT, but HTC released 2.1 for the (unbranded) Hero in the UK yesterday, so I think that's the same version of Android as on the Desire now.


----------



## mauvais (Jun 30, 2010)

Next question: is there anything good on the PC for handling backup, sync etc - or for that matter, more exciting Desire features?


----------



## Redeyes (Jun 30, 2010)

mauvais said:


> Next question: is there anything good on the PC for handling backup, sync etc - or for that matter, more exciting Desire features?



MyBackup is pretty good, costs $4.99 but you can try it free for 30 days.

http://www.rerware.com/Android/

Can't for the life of me figure out if the software that comes with the phone (HTC Sync) really does anything useful. I've instaled it and looked at it but I'm just not getting it...


----------



## mauvais (Jul 1, 2010)

A tip for anyone thinking about adding an Exchange ActiveSync account via the built in sync (like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr etc): don't. It takes the IT security policy and means that you need to enter a complex password every time you unlock the screen. It's also not brilliant once integrated. That and if you get it wrong a few times, it wipes the device.

There's an app called Touchdown that does the same job, but better, and with a PIN that is app-specific rather than meddling with the whole phone. It's very nice, but it does cost $20.

If you want to persevere with the built in one, there's also an app called Lock Picker that hijacks the Exchange security policy and restores the swipe lockscreen. However no doubt this will get you in trouble if your IT dept find out.


----------



## mauvais (Jul 1, 2010)

One more post: there's a free market app called FlashApp that lets you use the Desire's flash LED as a torch.

This led me onto a different subject - why doesn't said LED light when focusing in the camera, i.e. so you can see what you're focusing on in the dark? Is this me being thick?


----------



## Gromit (Jul 1, 2010)

mauvais said:


> One more post: there's a free market app called FlashApp that lets you use the Desire's flash LED as a torch.
> 
> This led me onto a different subject - why doesn't said LED light when focusing in the camera, i.e. so you can see what you're focusing on in the dark? Is this me being thick?


 
No you aren't being thick. Many camera phones have that primer light function (or whatever its called) so i was surprised when the HTC didn't.

Thanks to that I missed a shot of a fawn standing 10 feet away from me. I couldn't find it in the viewfinder in the darkness of night despite it being so close..


----------



## editor (Jul 1, 2010)

mauvais said:


> This led me onto a different subject - why doesn't said LED light when focusing in the camera, i.e. so you can see what you're focusing on in the dark? Is this me being thick?


It's coming in the Froyo update.

Something I found out that's a bit ruddy annoying. My phone is an unlocked Orange one and the fuckers don't accept Android OTA updates.

http://www.slashgear.com/htc-hero-firmware-upgrade-goes-live-on-uk-site-1556723/

It looks like I need to strip it of all Orange branding in the ROM, and hopefullly get a clean handset but still with HTC Sense onboard. 

Anyone know the procedure?


----------



## mack (Jul 1, 2010)

You should be able to find the instructions on here..

http://android.modaco.com/category/430/htc-desire-desire-modaco-com/


----------



## mauvais (Jul 1, 2010)

Gromit said:


> No you aren't being thick. Many camera phones have that primer light function (or whatever its called) so i was surprised when the HTC didn't.
> 
> Thanks to that I missed a shot of a fawn standing 10 feet away from me. I couldn't find it in the viewfinder in the darkness of night despite it being so close..





editor said:


> It's coming in the Froyo update.


Aha, cheers.

I seriously heart the Guardian Anywhere app by the way. It's worth it just for the daily '24 Hours in Pictures' - get more by managing tags and adding 'Last Week'. Riot porn each morning!


----------



## editor (Jul 1, 2010)

mack said:


> You should be able to find the instructions on here..
> 
> http://android.modaco.com/category/430/htc-desire-desire-modaco-com/


Eeek! That looks a little daunting to me!


----------



## ohmyliver (Jul 1, 2010)

debranding may also create problems. For example the more recent Desire update caused wifi to stop working but seemingly only on debranded handsets. 
http://androidforums.com/htc-desire/89542-desire-firmware-ota-update-2.html


----------



## dervish (Jul 1, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Thing is , the reception in my house is generally good ( about 3 bars ) and my old Blackberry Curve 8900 never ever had any reception problems whatsoever. Think it could be SIM card related?



No, it's nothing to do with the sim. All the sim does is authenticate on the network. The signal can be affected by loads of other factors and will vary hugely between phones. My K810 gets 5 bars in most of my house and my desire gets between 1 and 3 bars. 

The GSM radio is the biggest battery drain by far on a phone and on the newer smart phones that also have fast processors, huge screens and tons of extra features the radio will be underpowered so the battery life doesn't suffer too much hence why ipones are notorious for signal problems. 

It's useful for the manufacturers to do this as a) the radio is about the only thing you can take power from without affecting user experience too much and b) they can blame it on the networks, or rather if you are getting crap signal you wouldn't blame the phone first.


----------



## Idaho (Jul 4, 2010)

Was thinking of getting one of these and wondered if I could get a couple of quick answers/general opinion. One of the reasons for getting one is to use it as a sat nav occasionally in the car. Question I have is - do they work ok? I really don't have much experience with the new portable devices. I have looked at these reviews and not been left with a decisive answer as to whether they are an adequate substitute for a normal car sat nav.

http://mobile.jack-frost.co.uk/android_sat_nav_apps.php

Also - with these devices, do you have to recharge them every day? I am used to my phone with a week between charges.

And a really dumb question: When you get a contract for these, you get either a metered internet use at x per kb, or a data allowance per month?


----------



## editor (Jul 4, 2010)

OK: with Android you get free sat nav - check out this month's PC Pro magazine where they did a detailed test of various sat nav systems. Android navigation came out top by miles, IIRC but I can check for you later if you want. 

Battery life isn't fantastic - about the same as the iPhone 3GS for me -  but all smartphones are battery hogs. One advantage is that you can buy cheapo batteries off ebay and swap them over or use a car kit.

Some deals will give you 'unlimited' data but these kind of deals are expected to start changing soon.


----------



## editor (Jul 4, 2010)

OK: with Android you get free sat nav - check out this month's PC Pro magazine where they did a detailed test of various sat nav systems. Android navigation came out top by miles, IIRC but I can check for you later if you want. 

Battery life isn't fantastic - about the same as the iPhone 3GS for me -  but all smartphones are battery hogs. One advantage is that you can buy cheapo batteries off ebay and swap them over or use a car kit.

Some deals will give you 'unlimited' data (but these kind of deals are expected to start changing soon). Almost all deals give you an allowance of some sort. You can get a HTC Desire for free on unlimited data for around £30/month.


----------



## editor (Jul 4, 2010)

Oh, I'm absolutely loving my Desire by the way. I much prefer it to my iPhone.

Minus points so far: the screen is fantastic in normal use but pretty awful in really bright direct sunlight and sometimes I have to reboot it to get phone access back (the iPhone did this too but not as often). There's zillions of apps and I'm missing nothing from my iPhone - and, of course, you get a much better Google Maps experience.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 4, 2010)

editor said:


> Oh, I'm absolutely loving my Desire by the way. I much prefer it to my iPhone.
> 
> Minus points so far: the screen is fantastic in normal use but pretty awful in really bright direct sunlight and sometimes I have to reboot it to get phone access back (the iPhone did this too but not as often). There's zillions of apps and I'm missing nothing from my iPhone - and, of course, you get a much better Google Maps experience.



Pretty much my experience with the Desire too. The screens shit in daylight but to be honest I don't get my phone out often enough when I'm outside to really count it as a minus point.

Battery is pretty decent too , I manage to get about 2 days use out of mine with normal wifi/3G use. Very impressed


----------



## editor (Jul 4, 2010)

Oh, and the camera really is rather good.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 4, 2010)

One thing I prefer on the iPhone is the keyboard. If the Desire didn't have such a good auto correct feature you'd need an enigma machine to decode my text messages.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jul 4, 2010)

editor said:


> Oh, I'm absolutely loving my Desire by the way. I much prefer it to my iPhone.
> 
> Minus points so far: the screen is fantastic in normal use but pretty awful in really bright direct sunlight and sometimes I have to reboot it to get phone access back (the iPhone did this too but not as often). There's zillions of apps and I'm missing nothing from my iPhone - and, of course, you get a much better Google Maps experience.



Really? Not once in a year has my iPhone needed rebooting to get phone access back!


----------



## editor (Jul 4, 2010)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Really? Not once in a year has my iPhone  needed rebooting to get phone access back!


I had it a couple of  times when it wouldn't access data. A quick reboot got things working  again. 


Callum91 said:


> One thing I prefer on the iPhone is the keyboard. If the Desire didn't have such a good auto correct feature you'd need an enigma machine to decode my text messages.


Try out Swype and the iPhone's keyboard will feel like something out of the stone age!

It really is incredibly clever and hugely faster. I'm definitely going to pay for it when it comes out of beta.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 4, 2010)

editor said:


> I had it a couple of  times when it wouldn't access data. A quick reboot got things working  again.
> Try out Swype and the iPhone's keyboard will feel like something out of the stone age!
> 
> It really is incredibly clever and hugely faster. I'm definitely going to pay for it when it comes out of beta.



Is swype on the android app store?


----------



## editor (Jul 4, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Is swype on the android app store?


It's in beta. You can bag it here but have to register - and wait - first: http://www.swypeinc.com/myswype.html


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 4, 2010)

editor said:


> It's in beta. You can bag it here but have to register - and wait - first: http://www.swypeinc.com/myswype.html



Cheers. It looks brilliant


----------



## editor (Jul 4, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Cheers. It looks brilliant


It's pretty astonishing. Sometimes I move my finger in the vaguest, sloppiest of motions and it still gets it spot on.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 5, 2010)

editor said:


> It's pretty astonishing. Sometimes I move my finger in the vaguest, sloppiest of motions and it still gets it spot on.



Any idea when it will be properly released?


----------



## editor (Jul 5, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Any idea when it will be properly released?


Got to be soon as it's already a very polished and stable product.


----------



## grit (Jul 5, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Cheers. It looks brilliant



If you google you can find versions that do not require registration


----------



## Idaho (Jul 5, 2010)

That Swype does look good.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jul 5, 2010)

They've got a 3 month exclusivity deal with Samsung on the Galaxy S - after that it'll be properly available.


----------



## madamv (Jul 5, 2010)

Registered.. anything that will improve my current key skills is.welcomed! Although the prediction on here (htc desire) is really good.

With this phone I have decided to not be a technophobe!


----------



## Gromit (Jul 5, 2010)

My colleague's Desire went belly up the weekend. Has been told by Carphone Warehouse that it could take up to 28 days for HTC to repair.

I'm hoping that she gets no warrenty hassles like i did. From her conversation with them it sounds like they've sent a fair few back for various reasons but her was the first for her problem.

From my experience and hers I'm thinking that the Desire's build quality has a lot to be desired. An insurance policy is a must if you are considering a Desire.


----------



## editor (Jul 5, 2010)

Gromit said:


> From my experience and hers I'm thinking that the Desire's build quality has a lot to be desired.


I haven't heard of any widespread problems, and HTC have shifted a *lot* of these handsets.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 5, 2010)

Build quality of mine is top notch. Only thing that really could be better is the battery panel.


----------



## grit (Jul 5, 2010)

Gromit said:


> My colleague's Desire went belly up the weekend. Has been told by Carphone Warehouse that it could take up to 28 days for HTC to repair.
> 
> I'm hoping that she gets no warrenty hassles like i did. From her conversation with them it sounds like they've sent a fair few back for various reasons but her was the first for her problem.
> 
> From my experience and hers I'm thinking that the Desire's build quality has a lot to be desired. An insurance policy is a must if you are considering a Desire.



Can you be a bit more specific regarding the problem encountered?


----------



## mrs quoad (Jul 6, 2010)

Idaho said:


> That Swype does look good.



On reflection, I've realised that I'm lots quicker with the standard htc input / keyboard.

Swipe just looks well pretty.


----------



## editor (Jul 6, 2010)

Really? I'm massively faster with Swype.


----------



## Gromit (Jul 6, 2010)

grit said:


> Can you be a bit more specific regarding the problem encountered?


 
Screen when white and froze and then the phone refuses to do anything at all anymore.

Plus it would occasionally refuse to charge from a lead so she had to take the battery out and charge it externally with a charger I sold her (half price).


----------



## mrs quoad (Jul 6, 2010)

editor said:


> Really? I'm massively faster with Swype.



The deletions and amendments alone make it more time consuming. I reckon otherwise it'd probably be on about a par. Using thumbs sideways on the standard touch keypad vs upright swipe, that is.


----------



## grit (Jul 6, 2010)

mrs quoad said:


> The deletions and amendments alone make it more time consuming. I reckon otherwise it'd probably be on about a par. Using thumbs sideways on the standard touch keypad vs upright swipe, that is.



You just have not practiced swype enough.


----------



## mrs quoad (Jul 6, 2010)

grit said:


> You just have not practiced swype enough.



About there weeks.

Touted with swype, lol.

Then again, maybe I'm just unusually fast with my thumbs. WITH auto correct, more accurate too. I never left spelling mistakes I'm messages before getting swype.


----------



## mrs quoad (Jul 6, 2010)

It's also absolute cock for typing in urls.


----------



## grit (Jul 6, 2010)

mrs quoad said:


> About there weeks.
> 
> Touted with swype, lol.
> 
> Then again, maybe I'm just unusually fast with my thumbs. WITH auto correct, more accurate too. I never left spelling mistakes I'm messages before getting swype.



Sorry I think I misread, versus landscape with two thumbs, if your fast I'd guess you could beat swype. In the standard portrait position though I think swype would win?


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 6, 2010)

I still prefer the iPhone keyboard , I'm much much more accurate on it.


----------



## editor (Jul 6, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> I still prefer the iPhone keyboard , I'm much much more accurate on it.


That's plain weird because the standard keyboards are nigh on identical on both phones


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 6, 2010)

I make many more mistakes on the Desire keyboard than I do on my iPod touch.


----------



## Gromit (Jul 6, 2010)

editor said:


> That's plain weird because the standard keyboards are nigh on identical on both phones



Nah the touch space inbetween keys is a lot closer on the Desire.

Iphone keys are more spaced so to speak.

I have the same problem. I was much more accurate at tapping the letter i wanted on iPhone.

The desire's text prediction is better though which just about compensates for it.


----------



## mrs quoad (Jul 6, 2010)

grit said:


> Sorry I think I misread, versus landscape with two thumbs, if your fast I'd guess you could beat swype. In the standard portrait position though I think swype would win?



Standard portrait for both, definitely swype.

Standard landscape for both, definitely keypad.

Standard landscape keypad vs standard portrait swype, for me it's landscape keypad. By quite some distance.


----------



## Gromit (Jul 7, 2010)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10525509.stm

HTC sales have been rather good according to this article.

iPhone4's poor rep at the moment isn't going to hurt future sales predictions either i'm guessing.

Hopefully this will stimulate the Andriod aps market a bit along with Froyo's install to memory card fix (HTC Desire's patch pending).


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jul 7, 2010)

Gromit said:


> Nah the touch space inbetween keys is a lot closer on the Desire.
> 
> Iphone keys are more spaced so to speak.
> 
> ...



The keyboard was the main reason I gave the Desire up. Find the iPhone's infinitely easier to use. Desire one drove me mad.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jul 7, 2010)

And yes, I calibrated several times.


----------



## editor (Jul 7, 2010)

ChrisFilter said:


> The keyboard was the main reason I gave the Desire up. Find the iPhone's infinitely easier to use. Desire one drove me mad.


Weird. I find it easily as good as the iPhone's and miles better with Swype.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jul 7, 2010)

editor said:


> Weird. I find it easily as good as the iPhone's and miles better with Swype.



I must have an odd method of typing.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jul 7, 2010)

ChrisFilter said:


> The keyboard was the main reason I gave the Desire up. Find the iPhone's infinitely easier to use. Desire one drove me mad.



The iPhone keyboard is the best touch screen around ime.


----------



## editor (Jul 7, 2010)

Kid_Eternity said:


> The iPhone keyboard is the best touch screen around ime.


Have you used Swype? Or the HTC Desire keyboard for any length of time?


----------



## Gromit (Jul 7, 2010)

ChrisFilter said:


> I must have an odd method of typing.



Or fat fingers.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jul 7, 2010)

Gromit said:


> Or fat fingers.



Yes, that too. It was the predictive text that really annoyed me. And the smaller space bar. I kept using . instead of space.


----------



## wtfftw (Jul 7, 2010)

I used . Instead of space. Part of what I like with swype is not having to do spaces.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 7, 2010)

ChrisFilter said:


> Yes, that too. It was the predictive text that really annoyed me. And the smaller space bar. I kept using . instead of space.



That's one of my problems too , it ALWAYS happens to me , slows my typing right down.


----------



## editor (Jul 7, 2010)

Thing is, with Android you can always use lots of other keyboards.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 7, 2010)

If I could use the iPhone keyboard on the Desire I'd be a very happy man.


----------



## wtfftw (Jul 7, 2010)

editor said:


> Thing is, with Android you can always use lots of other keyboards.



Exactly.

There must be an iphone-a-like one out there. I might play with my brothers iphone and see what the fuss is about.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jul 7, 2010)

drag0n said:


> Exactly.
> 
> There must be an iphone-a-like one out there. I might play with my brothers iphone and see what the fuss is about.



It's the simplicity. I couldn't one as good, but my swype invite came in after I passed on my Desire.


----------



## Chz (Jul 8, 2010)

Add another user. I got sick and tired of doing work emails all the time because I liked having the internet access and maps off my Blackberry - so I ended up carrying the damned thing everywhere!

Picked up a Desire just so I could leave the Bold at home. It's a _very_ different user experience though. I'm kind of surprised that the gmail app on the Blackberry (hell on my Nokia 6300!) is actually superior to the Android one. Don't like it, but I suppose the whole point of Android is that I can replace it.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 8, 2010)

I'm finding myself getting paranoid about battery use and constantly checking what's using what. Help!


----------



## editor (Jul 8, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> I'm finding myself getting paranoid about battery use and constantly checking what's using what. Help!



Here you go:



> 11 ways to conserve your HTC Desire Battery Life:
> 
> 1. Reduce Screen Brightness:
> HTC Desire has one of the best screen displays out there. With AMOLED high resolution display, it consumes most of your batterylife too. You can reduce your screen brightness via Settings > Sound & display > Brightness > Untick Automatic brightness > Reduce Brightness by sliding to left.
> ...


----------



## Gromit (Jul 8, 2010)

Or buy a spare battery and a dual battery charger that charges both batteries at the same time.

Replaceable battery innit. One of the main bloody reasons to go with a Desire over an iPhone.


----------



## editor (Jul 8, 2010)

£14.50 dock + 2nd battery charger here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Desire-Crad...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1278596195&sr=1-1


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 8, 2010)

editor said:


> Here you go:



I know all that , it's more the fact I'm constantly checking the battery level ALL the time.


----------



## editor (Jul 8, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> I know all that , it's more the fact I'm constantly checking the battery level ALL the time.


The battery's about the same as it was for the iPhone - but having a second battery to hand makes things easier.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 8, 2010)

editor said:


> The battery's about the same as it was for the iPhone - but having a second battery to hand makes things easier.



It would be handy but that means I'd have to take it out of the case I bought for it ( which is a bastard to get on and off ) .


----------



## Chz (Jul 10, 2010)

Pity the Swype beta's closed. Arstechnica gave it a fab review as well.

That said, the "Fat Keys" one is pretty good. It tries to predict what keys you might push next and makes those ones larger and the others smaller.


----------



## wtfftw (Jul 10, 2010)

It's annoying how mine basically won't shutdown. It takes like 2 hours and then I run out of patience and take the battery out. I just like to reboot occasionally.


----------



## editor (Jul 10, 2010)

I haven't had this, but it seems a factory reset normally fixes that.

If that's a bit of a hassle, first try unmounting the SD card before shutting down/clearing the cache or killing any open apps before shutting down.

Oh, and a different SD cad might do the job too.


----------



## ohmyliver (Jul 10, 2010)

drag0n said:


> It's annoying how mine basically won't shutdown. It takes like 2 hours and then I run out of patience and take the battery out. I just like to reboot occasionally.



What firmware/build number do you have (settings\about phone\software information).  If it's 1.15.xxx then that's yer problem, upgrade to 1.21.xxx and you'll get faster shut downs.


----------



## wtfftw (Jul 10, 2010)

My firmware is ok. I'll try unmounting my sd card next time. I might buy a better one as I've still got the one that came with the phone.
Ta.


----------



## mauvais (Jul 10, 2010)

It's not the firmware - my mate has one that's 1.21 and it's slow as fuck to shutdown.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 10, 2010)

What sort of battery life is everyone getting from their Desire? I get about 2 days from mine ( light internet surfing , usually always wi-fi ).


----------



## editor (Jul 10, 2010)

Same as my iPhone 3GS at around a 12-16 hours of surfing, snapping, browsing, uploading and generally fiddling about.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 10, 2010)

I feel that having to do all these battery preserving techniques detracts from having a smartphone. With wi-fi/3G turned off it just becomes a rather expensive paper weight.


----------



## madamv (Jul 10, 2010)

Ooh mine won't turn off quickly either.... I just take the battery out.


----------



## Redeyes (Jul 10, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> I feel that having to do all these battery preserving techniques detracts from having a smartphone. With wi-fi/3G turned off it just becomes a rather expensive paper weight.



I don't do anything to try and preserve my battery. I've loads of apps installed, leave the wi-fi on most of the time and use it quite a lot on an average day. I manage to easily get 12+ hours out of the battery. 

My last charge was yesterday morning and it's still got 20% battery left as I look at it now.


----------



## ohmyliver (Jul 12, 2010)

Well, ok I was wrong on the update fixing slow shutdown times. But this should work, honest, clearing the cache of the browser should speed up shutdown speeds. You can do that by going to settings/applications/manage applications/internet.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 12, 2010)

My dad got the Samsung Wave on the weekend and it's super AMOLED screen makes my Desire's AMOLED screen feel a tad inferior .


----------



## madamv (Jul 12, 2010)

I just uploaded a video to my lappy and theres no volume!   Anyone have an idea of what I have done wrong.  Googleing doesnt help...


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Jul 12, 2010)

what are you trying to play it with?

download and install vlc player, see if that plays it ok.


----------



## futha (Jul 14, 2010)

just got one of these. Pretty cool! 

Two things I am wondering though:

Is there any way of turning off the notification which displays the contents of a new text at the top of the screen? I can't seem to find the setting to configure the drag down notification bar.

It seems to be impossible to zoom when filming a video which is a bit annoying.

Great phone though


----------



## wtfftw (Jul 14, 2010)

You can turn off the notification in the settings of messages.


----------



## Echo Base (Jul 14, 2010)

Off topic but has anyone got/used a Wildfire? Ive read the reviews on some dodgy website called Techradar (wink) but wuold like to hear siome first hand views. Desire is a bit too pricey for me and seems overspecced for what I want (phone, camera, browser, SMS, social networking).


----------



## editor (Jul 14, 2010)

Eme's is looking at the Wildfire too because she wants something smaller. The just of the reviews seems to be it's a good budget phone - not perfect mind, but a pretty god package for the price.

Anyone tried this new keyboard yet - it's making big claims!
http://www.wirefresh.com/swiftkey-keyboard-for-android-up-to-50-greater-text-entry-efficiency/


----------



## futha (Jul 14, 2010)

drag0n said:


> You can turn off the notification in the settings of messages.



Thanks. It doesn't seem to displaying the actual message content now anyway which is all I wanted it to stop doing!


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 14, 2010)

editor said:


> Eme's is looking at the Wildfire too because she wants something smaller. The just of the reviews seems to be it's a good budget phone - not perfect mind, but a pretty god package for the price.
> 
> Anyone tried this new keyboard yet - it's making big claims!
> http://www.wirefresh.com/swiftkey-keyboard-for-android-up-to-50-greater-text-entry-efficiency/



Just read that article and was about to ask the same question. Thing is , is it better than Swype?


----------



## ohmyliver (Jul 14, 2010)

editor said:


> Eme's is looking at the Wildfire too because she wants something smaller. The just of the reviews seems to be it's a good budget phone - not perfect mind, but a pretty god package for the price.
> 
> Anyone tried this new keyboard yet - it's making big claims!
> http://www.wirefresh.com/swiftkey-keyboard-for-android-up-to-50-greater-text-entry-efficiency/



Just typing on it now.  Its prediction of what you are trying to type is pretty damn good.  Sometimes suggesting the next word before I've begun typing it. Well that's happened twice but I was impressed. Keys seem accurate.  I like it.


----------



## The Octagon (Jul 14, 2010)

editor said:


> Anyone tried this new keyboard yet - it's making big claims!
> http://www.wirefresh.com/swiftkey-keyboard-for-android-up-to-50-greater-text-entry-efficiency/



Using it now,  not sure it's as good to be honest,  delete function is a pain and the default seemed faster. Prediction is good though.


----------



## editor (Jul 14, 2010)

The combo of the browser based page saving app called InstaPaper and the Android app called Instafetch is absolutely brilliant. 

There's a free ad supported version, but I'm happy to support the developer and fork out $1.99/year.


----------



## futha (Jul 14, 2010)

argh it's doing it again, whenever I get a text it displays the whole content on my main screen rather than just telling me who it's from. I turned off notifications but then it doesn't even seem to vibrate or anything.


----------



## Echo Base (Jul 15, 2010)

Fuck, but these Wildfire are selling. Ive been in T Mobile 3 times in the last 2 days in the City and there is no stock, anywhere. They are FOC on a £20 24 month contract and it looks like they are beating the iPhone and the Desire up, as theres loads of them in store.


----------



## wtfftw (Jul 15, 2010)

futha said:


> argh it's doing it again, whenever I get a text it displays the whole content on my main screen rather than just telling me who it's from. I turned off notifications but then it doesn't even seem to vibrate or anything.


You could try a different message app. I tried Chomp for a bit; that might let you stop the text.


----------



## futha (Jul 15, 2010)

drag0n said:


> You could try a different message app. I tried Chomp for a bit; that might let you stop the text.



Yeah I am giving 'handcent' a go, it is a bit better  This may be a stupid question but how do you close an application (without killing it using the application killer app)?


----------



## editor (Jul 15, 2010)

You can buy a new HTC Wildfire sim-free for just £225, which makes it pretty remarkable value,


----------



## zaphod22 (Jul 15, 2010)

For anyone looking at getting the HTC Desire, have a look at this deal on Orange! Just got one for my Mrs.

HTC Desire

p.s. I have no affiliation with the company. I just thought it was a damn good offer.


----------



## Idaho (Jul 15, 2010)

These mobile phone contracts are really just a way of selling credit.

£25 a month for 24 months = £600.

So many elaborate deals with cashback, automatic cashback, gifts, etc. I am wondering if it's all a bit of a con. "See this shiny must-have-thing. It can all be yours, and only £25 a month (plus a few other little cost-ettes, but don't worry about those). And in 18 months we'll dangle another shiny thing in front of you".

[/derail]


----------



## grit (Jul 15, 2010)

Idaho said:


> These mobile phone contracts are really just a way of selling credit.
> 
> 
> [/derail]



What else did you think made a network money?


----------



## Chz (Jul 15, 2010)

I think I went on Vodafone's "No Friends" special - 100 mins/500 txts/1GB data.  Even Orange's "unlimited" is 750MB. I'm not sure I'll ever actually use all that data, mind you. They're getting wifi in the office that I can hijack.


----------



## King Biscuit Time (Jul 15, 2010)

zaphod22 said:


> For anyone looking at getting the HTC Desire, have a look at this deal on Orange! Just got one for my Mrs.
> 
> HTC Desire
> 
> p.s. I have no affiliation with the company. I just thought it was a damn good offer.



I nearly took that deal today. Even though my existing contract runs until Sept. 

On the end I decided to be sensible and wait until my contract is properly up instead of taking shiny things now. Also I can keep my number.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 15, 2010)

I'm abit gutted that info about the new HTC Desire HD is coming out in October


----------



## editor (Jul 15, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> I'm abit gutted that info about the new HTC  Desire HD is coming out in October


That's only a rumour and October is a fair way away!


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 15, 2010)

editor said:


> That's only a rumour and October is a fair way away!



Pretty sure it's more than '' just a rumour ''. 4.3 inch screen , 8 megapixel camera , 4GB built in memory


----------



## editor (Jul 15, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Pretty sure it's more than '' just a rumour ''. 4.3 inch screen , 8 megapixel camera , 4GB built in memory


It's still a rumour at this stage because nothing official has been announced. Obviously HTC are going to be releasing new, improved handsets but there's no point buying any phone if you're going to get upset by the news of updates. 

I'm well chuffed with my HTC so that'll do me for a while (although that's not to say I won;t get upgrading fever if a sensational new phone is announced!).


----------



## Idaho (Jul 16, 2010)

editor said:


> It's still a rumour at this stage because nothing official has been announced. Obviously HTC are going to be releasing new, improved handsets but there's no point buying any phone if you're going to get upset by the news of updates.



I find it can be a good way of deferring gratification and saving money. I was thinking of getting the current Desire shiny thing, but now I have heard this news, I will wait until October to get the brand new latest shiny thing.


----------



## editor (Jul 16, 2010)

MixZing is a really really good music player and miles better than the Android/iPhone built in apps.


----------



## joustmaster (Jul 16, 2010)

editor said:


> MixZing is a really really good music player and miles better than the Android/iPhone built in apps.



Yup.


----------



## Gromit (Jul 16, 2010)

editor said:


> That's only a rumour and October is a fair way away!


 
Its too frigging far away when you consider Froyo is not expected till then.

I want my HTC sense skinned Froyo noW!!1111


----------



## futha (Jul 16, 2010)

I haggled Orange into a fairly good deal. 900 mins, unlimited texts, free data package worth £5 (the usual 500mb limit though), 18th month with a free Desire for £30 a month. I was paying £40 for much less previously 

It is still annoying me you can't zoom while recording video! Even my crappy Nokia could do that!! Loving the phone otherwise though


----------



## editor (Jul 16, 2010)

futha said:


> It is still annoying me you can't zoom while recording video! Even my crappy Nokia could do that!! Loving the phone otherwise though


You'll find almost all modern smartphones have that limitation.


----------



## futha (Jul 16, 2010)

editor said:


> You'll find almost all modern smartphones have that limitation.




Oh really? I have never had one before this. How odd. I wonder if any software update will address it in the future. It's not the end of the world I guess


----------



## editor (Jul 16, 2010)

futha said:


> Oh really? I have never had one before this. How odd. I wonder if any software update will address it in the future. It's not the end of the world I guess


It will amost certainly be a hideous digital zoom rather than a proper optical zoom, so you'll always get far better quality by moving closer.


----------



## Chz (Jul 16, 2010)

You very rarely even get optical zoom during video on proper cameras - the zoom motors will drown out everything while they're working.


----------



## wtfftw (Jul 16, 2010)

I was on a bus last night and got talking to the man sat next to me as we both had this phone.


----------



## futha (Jul 17, 2010)

editor said:


> It will amost certainly be a hideous digital zoom rather than a proper optical zoom, so you'll always get far better quality by moving closer.


 
ah good point!


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 17, 2010)

Has there been any sort of specific date set for the Froyo release on the Desire? Or is it all still abit vague?


----------



## editor (Jul 19, 2010)

HTC Desire triumphs in a face off with iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy!

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...iphone-4-vs-samsung-galaxy-s-702739?artc_pg=1


----------



## Chz (Jul 19, 2010)

I've seen the Galaxy's screen, and it is a thing of beauty. Despite being ever-so-slightly lower-rez than the iPhone, it's the prettiest thing I've ever seen. Downside is Samsung's branded UI and the fact that previous experience suggests that they're quite unlikely to put out a 2.2 upgrade.


----------



## Gromit (Jul 19, 2010)

editor said:


> HTC Desire triumphs in a face off with iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy!
> 
> http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...iphone-4-vs-samsung-galaxy-s-702739?artc_pg=1


 

Triumph is a strong phrase. I read the whole article and would use the phrase "pips iPhone to the post".

The iPhone won on many counts but (rightly or wrongly) cost and the recently fixed call drop issue were held heavily against it.

Interestingly I didn't know that the desire doesn't have noise canceling. Something I'll bear in mind in future. I think they should have also covered clarity of calls received. The Desire's call reception is tinny compared with the iPhone's.

Still they are all good phones compared with phones of yore


----------



## editor (Jul 19, 2010)

Gromit said:


> Triumph is a strong phrase. I read the whole article and would use the phrase "pips iPhone to the post".


It's also the correct phrase to apply to the winner of a contest, no matter how slim or large the size of the victory.

Ifankyew.  

Oh, and I find the Desire to have better call quality than the iPhone 3GS. I've not compared it to a iPhone 4 yet.


----------



## Refused as fuck (Jul 19, 2010)

MixZing Player is no longer free for the full version but well worth the money after the new update, the equaliser is sweet and you can set it to remember settings for different albums.


----------



## editor (Jul 19, 2010)

Refused as fuck said:


> MixZing Player is no longer free for the full version but well worth the money after the new update, the equaliser is sweet and you can set it to remember settings for different albums.


 The best bit (for me) was that MixZing lets me use my iPhone-compatible headphones to skip/stop/start songs. Nice


----------



## Gromit (Jul 19, 2010)

editor said:


> The best bit (for me) was that MixZing lets me use my iPhone-compatible headphones to skip/stop/start songs. Nice


 
Why doesn't the inbuilt one let you?

Trying to force people to buy their accessories I guess. Naughty naughty.


----------



## Refused as fuck (Jul 19, 2010)

editor said:


> The best bit (for me) was that MixZing lets me use my iPhone-compatible headphones to skip/stop/start songs. Nice


 
which ones do you have?


----------



## editor (Jul 19, 2010)

Refused as fuck said:


> which ones do you have?


These puppies: http://www.wirefresh.com/v-moda-remix-remote-earphones-for-the-iphone-3gsipod-review/

Let me check if they work with the Griffin adapter....

http://www.wirefresh.com/griffin-smarttalk-earphone-adapter-for-iphones-ipods-review/

Yep - both let you pause/play and skip tracks forward. Neat.


----------



## editor (Jul 19, 2010)

Gromit said:


> Why doesn't the inbuilt one let you?
> 
> Trying to force people to buy their accessories I guess. Naughty naughty.


Err, the headphones that come with the HTC let you control track playback but I'm on about using headphones _specifically designed for the iPhone.
_


----------



## Gromit (Jul 19, 2010)

I must admit that i quite fancy one of these:

http://www.htcaccessorystore.com/uk/p_htc_item.aspx?i=150194

So that I can plug in any old headphones. 

It bugs the fuck out of me that both HTC and Apple only ever box one size of earphone with their products. If you want earphones that you can adjust to bigger or smaller ears you have to buy seperate and they invaribly won't have music controls or cost 6 times as much if they do.


----------



## Gromit (Jul 19, 2010)

editor said:


> Err, the headphones that come with the HTC let you control track playback but I'm on about using headphones _specifically designed for the iPhone.
> _


 
And your saying that if you use them on a HTC the controls don't work unless you use the 3rd party music ap?


----------



## Refused as fuck (Jul 19, 2010)

Gromit said:


> And your saying that if you use them on a HTC the controls don't work unless you use the 3rd party music ap?


 
no, the controls work with the stock music app as well. the 3rd party app is just better. Jeez.


----------



## Idaho (Jul 19, 2010)

editor said:


> HTC Desire triumphs in a face off with iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy!
> 
> http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...iphone-4-vs-samsung-galaxy-s-702739?artc_pg=1


 


> The world has been forced to live with sub-standard smartphone experiences for years...





They've only been around for about 5 months!


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 19, 2010)

The only thing I'm jealous of with the Galaxy S is the screen , Super AMOLED screens really are a thing of beauty.


----------



## editor (Jul 19, 2010)

Calendar Pad is a superb light app for showing month/week appointments. Free.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/jp.ne.gate.calpad


----------



## Gromit (Jul 19, 2010)

Refused as fuck said:


> no, the controls work with the stock music app as well. the 3rd party app is just better. Jeez.





editor said:


> The best bit (for me) was that MixZing lets me use my iPhone-compatible headphones to skip/stop/start songs. Nice



Sorry he just made it sound like it was some wizzo extra special thang and not something the standard play already does. Considering your convo was bigging up a 3rd party player when one already exists and is satisfactory.

Though i do like the DL artwork feature on MixZing. Big up to that.


----------



## Gromit (Jul 20, 2010)

I decided to see how fast my HTC Desire is on *H* (HSPA?) and downloaded two Internet Speed Test Aps.

According to the spec sheet it possible for me to get upto 7.2 Mbps

My results on T Mobile?

0.35 Mbps

Thats at a distance of 100 yards away from the T Mobile call centre.

Is my phone faulty or just what i can expect from T Mobile in Wales?


----------



## editor (Jul 20, 2010)

There's about a zillion variables for those kind of tests. What speed does T Mobile promise?


----------



## Gromit (Jul 20, 2010)

Edit: I think my last post was quoting US customers.

Just found on t-mobile discussions that t-mobile throttle to 300 Kbps.

That if I want the upto 2MB limit I have to pay a monthly upgrade fee of £10.64 a month (I think).


----------



## Gromit (Jul 20, 2010)

I thought the 1GB limit was a good deal when everyone else is capping at 500MB.

Now that I know that they throttle download speeds I realise T-Mobile is the last place you should go to buy an Android device.


----------



## fogbat (Jul 20, 2010)

How do the other networks compare on speed, Gromit?


----------



## Gromit (Jul 20, 2010)

Someone in a forum said Orange do 2Mbps

I know that my O2 contract was faster than 0.35Mbps (which is what T Mobile are giving me) but can't remember figures.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jul 20, 2010)

editor said:


> Calendar Pad is a superb light app for showing month/week appointments. Free.
> http://www.appbrain.com/app/jp.ne.gate.calpad


 
CalWidget is good for a desktop widget that just shows upcoming appointments, so no blank days taking up uneccessary room.



And Gigstar is one of the most exciting apps I've seen in a while, syncs with your last.fm account and notifies you of any bands you like that are playing in the (user defined) nearby area.


----------



## futha (Jul 21, 2010)

cliche guevara said:


> CalWidget is good for a desktop widget that just shows upcoming appointments, so no blank days taking up uneccessary room.
> 
> 
> 
> And Gigstar is one of the most exciting apps I've seen in a while, syncs with your last.fm account and notifies you of any bands you like that are playing in the (user defined) nearby area.


 
Thanks for the tip, gigstar sounds great!


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 29, 2010)

Apparently 2.2 Froyo is being released for the Desire very soon ( according to engadget).


----------



## wtfftw (Jul 29, 2010)

I keep running out of space on mine. Grr.


----------



## editor (Jul 29, 2010)

Two months in and I have to say I'm still delighted to have switched from the iPhone 3GS.


----------



## ohmyliver (Jul 29, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Apparently 2.2 Froyo is being released for the Desire very soon ( according to engadget).


 
http://androidandme.com/2010/07/pho...2-2-rollout-for-htc-desire-to-start-tomorrow/

looks like it was a slightly premature tweet from a Benelux HTC Bigwig, HTC have clarified this yesterday as "“possibly as early as tomorrow, but some things still need to be checked before we can confirm a specific day.” "


----------



## ohmyliver (Jul 30, 2010)

HTC have officially announced that 2.2 is rolling out to unbranded (i.e. if you have the build number 1.21.405) Desires this weekend 

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/30/official-htc-rolling-out-android-2-2-and-720p-video-capture-to/

"The Android 2.2 (FroYo) update for HTC Desire will start rolling out across Europe this weekend. As well as including the complete set of Android 2.2 features, the update will contain a few special additions of our own through the latest iteration of HTC Sense. The update will provide 720p video capture, HTC's App Share widget, as well as our enhanced HTC Caller ID, and improved multi-language keyboard. Also, through the update, HTC Sync will allow HTC Desire users to sync their music with iTunes. "

*eta* O2 are claiming a couple of weeks, Vodaphone are saying September for their branded versions to be released


----------



## fogbat (Jul 30, 2010)

Apparently HTC will be switching new Desires from AMOLED screens to Super LCD, due to a shortage of AMOLED screens.

So well done those of you who already have one.


In the meantime, I'm switching to the Samsung Galaxy S, cos I can't be bothered waiting any longer for the Desire.

e2a: Credit check pending, so expect me back in a few hours, pissing and moaning.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 30, 2010)

Great , because I bought a locked one for Orange I'm now going to have to wait even longer. Joy.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jul 30, 2010)

I thouhgt the SUper LCD screens were superior to the AMOLED ones?

Isn't the HTC Desire HD (aka HTC Ace) supposed to be released soon anyway?

In other news, my HTC magic is being downgraded from FroYo to Eclair as the release candidate of Cyanogen 6.0.0 is definitely not stable enough for me yet.


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 30, 2010)

cliche guevara said:


> I thouhgt the SUper LCD screens were superior to the AMOLED ones?
> 
> Isn't the HTC Desire HD (aka HTC Ace) supposed to be released soon anyway?
> 
> In other news, my HTC magic is being downgraded from FroYo to Eclair as the release candidate of Cyanogen 6.0.0 is definitely not stable enough for me yet.


 
Tbh unless it's super AMOLED , I'm not interested. I've seen the future in my dad's Samsung Wave , the screen is gorgeous.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jul 30, 2010)

I'm really not up to date on screen tech. What are the differences? Is Super AMOLED what the Galaxy S has?


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 31, 2010)

The Galaxy S and Wave have Super AMOLED screens.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jul 31, 2010)

I'm not holding by breath for the 2.2 upgrade to come to me on T-Mobile, Aqua's Hero is still running 1.6


----------



## cliche guevara (Jul 31, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> I'm not holding by breath for the 2.2 upgrade to come to me on T-Mobile, Aqua's Hero is still running 1.6


 
Idioteque's Hero is still on 1.5!


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 31, 2010)

Has there been any word on Orange's 2.2 release date yet? Or is it still just '' sometime within the next few weeks ''.


----------



## editor (Jul 31, 2010)

Traditionally, it seems that Orange are the most tardy of the bunch, which is a pain because I've got an unlocked Orange Desire.


----------



## mwgdrwg (Jul 31, 2010)

HTC/Orange only released 2.1 for the Hero this month...only 7 months late!

Hope your Desires get updated quicker than that! I shall be watching closely because the wait has put me off getting a branded HTC phone again.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jul 31, 2010)

editor said:


> Traditionally, it seems that Orange are the most tardy of the bunch, which is a pain because I've got an unlocked Orange Desire.


 
Root it and get FroYo today!


----------



## Callum91 (Jul 31, 2010)

It wouldn't bother me as much if the stuff Orange put on the phone was any good in the first place , but it's all useless rubbish. I hope they hurry up and get their arses in gear.


----------



## editor (Jul 31, 2010)

cliche guevara said:


> Root it and get FroYo today!


Would love to but I read that some Orange users have encountered problems doing that,


----------



## Citizen66 (Jul 31, 2010)

editor said:


> Traditionally, it seems that Orange are the most tardy of the bunch, which is a pain because I've got an unlocked Orange Desire.



If it's unlocked you can use it with any provider, hence unlocked!


----------



## editor (Jul 31, 2010)

Citizen66 said:


> If it's unlocked you can use it with any provider, hence unlocked!


Yes, I know that. It's already working with o2, but some users have reported problems upgrading Orange branded handsets to 2.2 by rooting it.


----------



## futha (Jul 31, 2010)

drag0n said:


> I keep running out of space on mine. Grr.


 
yeah its easy to fill the phone up with apps. I keep having to delete some.


----------



## cliche guevara (Aug 1, 2010)

I'm using a HTC HD2 while my Android phone gets repaired. Despite the gorgeous screen, WinMo is making me want to kill myself and I miss Android bad.


----------



## Callum91 (Aug 1, 2010)

cliche guevara said:


> I'm using a HTC HD2 while my Android phone gets repaired. Despite the gorgeous screen, WinMo is making me want to kill myself and I miss Android bad.


 
I feel your pain


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 1, 2010)

Woo, the 2.2 update is actually downloading as I type.... Looks like HTC have learned by their Hero it's here, no it's not, it's here, no it's not update debacle....


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Aug 1, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> Woo, the 2.2 update is actually downloading as I type.... Looks like HTC have learned by their Hero it's here, no it's not, it's here, no it's not update debacle....


 
What network are you on?


----------



## wtfftw (Aug 1, 2010)

Ooh. Shiny. Uh except swype doesn't work.  I've updated.   am on o2 but unlocked.


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 1, 2010)

I'm on three, but I got one of the first batch of desires they had.  Which was lucky as they rushed 'em to market without having time to put a 3 branded firmware on 'em. So it's unbranded effectivly.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Aug 1, 2010)

*shakes fist in the direction of T-Mobile*


----------



## wtfftw (Aug 1, 2010)

The browser seems quicker. Well the boards do, like normally I have to fanny about a bit and quick reply is no quicker.


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 1, 2010)

yup, seems quicker to surf, has new apps like a flash light app, video recorder now has a 720p option. 

Not enough apps support being run off the sd card... I've only been able to move 4 to the sd card.

*eta* there's a seperate video app, although my 3gp films I'd copied across are now incompatible 

in settings/applications/manage applications you can now see what apps are running, and stop them. 

voice search is installed by default


----------



## Idaho (Aug 1, 2010)

Ok so I got one... anyone feel like giving a 'do these 5 things first' guide?


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Aug 1, 2010)

Idaho said:


> Ok so I got one... anyone feel like giving a 'do these 5 things first' guide?


 
I'd just have a play with it first, the great thing about these phones is that you can customise it to how you want to work, rather than being forced into a particular way of doing things.


----------



## bmd (Aug 1, 2010)

Just started my 2.2 update via Settings > About Phone. It said there wasn't one at first then I tried it again and there it was! Thought this was gonna take months yet. On Orange.


----------



## editor (Aug 1, 2010)

I've got an Orange phone and I'm getting 'no software updates available'.


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 1, 2010)

@BM's dad did you get your phone through Carphone Warehouse? They sell unbranded versions, so I've heard....


----------



## Idaho (Aug 1, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> @BM's dad did you get your phone through Carphone Warehouse? They sell unbranded versions, so I've heard....


 
Mine was from carphone. It seemed to update something as soon as I booted it up.


----------



## Idaho (Aug 1, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> I'd just have a play with it first, the great thing about these phones is that you can customise it to how you want to work, rather than being forced into a particular way of doing things.


 
I am trying to work out whether I can just tweak a little, or can really piss about with it. Also trying to work out whether one sticks with the default software, or whether it's always worth branching out. The range of apps is rather daunting too.


----------



## wtfftw (Aug 1, 2010)

According to the internet a reinstall of swype should fix it. Not for me tho as I don't have the installer so I got swype to send me an invite again except it thinks my phone isn't android. 
Animated gifs work tho.


----------



## bmd (Aug 2, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> @BM's dad did you get your phone through Carphone Warehouse? They sell unbranded versions, so I've heard....


 
I got it from mobiles.co.uk which is Carphone Warehouse's online arm I think.


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 2, 2010)

has anyone on 2.2 noticed that the phone doesn't get quite so hot when doing lots of things? I'm wondering if it doesn't push the processor quite so hard.  Hopefully this will mean better battery life.


----------



## The Octagon (Aug 2, 2010)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> Just started my 2.2 update via Settings > About Phone. It said there wasn't one at first then I tried it again and there it was! Thought this was gonna take months yet. On Orange.


 


editor said:


> I've got an Orange phone and I'm getting 'no software updates available'.


 
I'm on Orange, I've just tried right now and the update is there, currently downloading....


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Aug 2, 2010)

Nothing here on T-Mobile.  Grrrrrr.


----------



## editor (Aug 2, 2010)

The Octagon said:


> I'm on Orange, I've just tried right now and the update is there, currently downloading....


 
You must have a lucky one because there's jack diddly squat available for mine.


----------



## Idaho (Aug 2, 2010)

The Octagon said:


> I'm on Orange, I've just tried right now and the update is there, currently downloading....


 
Is yours from Carphone Warehouse? Mine is Orange from them and it updated before I realised what it was doing.


----------



## futha (Aug 2, 2010)

what is the consensus on task killers? I use advanced task killer free but I have read conflicting opinions on other boards regarding their worth.


----------



## The Octagon (Aug 2, 2010)

Just finished, may I say "Ooooooh" much like the 3-eyed aliens from Toy Story 

Also - Holy Crap, the internet is fast as fuck 

Love that flashlight app, very lolsome

Will have a proper play shortly (still at work).

Initial analysis - Win.


----------



## wtfftw (Aug 2, 2010)

I only task kill if something is misbehaving. Like when twitter was down seesmic would get stuck loading (for 12 hours) so I killed it.


----------



## The Octagon (Aug 2, 2010)

Yep, Carphone Warehouse (although I went into 'About Phone' and set it going manually, it didn't update itself).


----------



## Chz (Aug 2, 2010)

I had to reboot  mine from Carphone Warehouse (on Voda) before it saw the update. It's sitting in the queue until I get home and wifi kicks in.


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 2, 2010)

if anyone wants a full list of changes/improvements in 2.2 on the Desire this xda developer's thread seems pretty useful
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=741491


----------



## Boris Sprinkler (Aug 3, 2010)

no update available for mine. Running 2.1-update 1..... hmmm.


----------



## editor (Aug 3, 2010)

Orange will deliver the update in four weeks. 
http://www.wirefresh.com/orange-htc-desire-android-2-2-update-coming-in-4-weeks/


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Aug 3, 2010)

editor said:


> Orange will deliver the update in four weeks.
> http://www.wirefresh.com/orange-htc-desire-android-2-2-update-coming-in-4-weeks/


 
Still no bloody word from T-Mobile


----------



## mauvais (Aug 3, 2010)

Nothing for me yet either, on an unbranded, unlocked Desire I got from Play.com. Tried a reboot.


----------



## editor (Aug 3, 2010)

Great app here if you're using the cycle scheme in London; http://www.wirefresh.com/cycle-hire-widget-for-android-lets-londoners-find-tfl-cycles-quickly/


----------



## grit (Aug 3, 2010)

futha said:


> what is the consensus on task killers? I use advanced task killer free but I have read conflicting opinions on other boards regarding their worth.


 
the VM already takes care of it, personally I dont think there is a need for a separate one.


----------



## Gromit (Aug 3, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Still no bloody word from T-Mobile


 
Yep. Sucks to be us. September is what all the rumours are saying.

Its enough to make you consider root'ing your phone. Something that tempts me if I not only get Froyo but rid of the T-Mobile splash screen at start up. Why do these firms think making your phone take longer to start up is a good thing? I know what bloody provider I'm with, i don't need to see it it every time I boot up my phone.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Aug 3, 2010)

Gromit said:


> Its enough to make you consider root'ing your phone


 
I've toyed with the idea, but all the instructions I've found look rather scary.

If anyone out there can show me how to get my phone into a standard, non T-Mobile 2.2 with sense I'm all ears.


----------



## Gromit (Aug 3, 2010)

futha said:


> what is the consensus on task killers? I use advanced task killer free but I have read conflicting opinions on other boards regarding their worth.


 


drag0n said:


> I only task kill if something is misbehaving. Like when twitter was down seesmic would get stuck loading (for 12 hours) so I killed it.


 


grit said:


> the VM already takes care of it, personally I dont think there is a need for a separate one.


 
The other day i was trying to charge my phone whilst it was still turned on. It wasn't gaining any charge at all.

I hit ATK and killed all the non essential aps (leaving Clock, Calendar, Google mail) in one quick button push. Vollia the phone started charging. 

Having a lot of aps in memory drains as much battery as a charger provides. 

I'd have to say an ap killer is essential for power management for anyone who accesses many aps through a day. Even things like a Pinball game leave themselves hanging aroubd and draining battery when you've quit playing.


----------



## mauvais (Aug 3, 2010)

Dianne Hackborn at Google said task killers aren't required too, but I disagree. Task killers are required whilst apps can do nasty things resource-wise, and apps will always be able to do such things because that freedom is required if you're to have a decent platform.

So, your pinball game is poorly designed and stays hanging around, and you decide to ban that, but then a well behaved service app like a network usage monitor ought to be running all the time (albeit in a miniscule way) and you break that. At best you end up with the old iPhone and no multitasking.

There is actually very little incentive to write a well behaved app in terms of power/resource usage because noone can see what it's doing or how much it's using. If it crashes then people complain but if the battery life drops, who is going to know it's your fault?

I'll still have a use for task killers as long as you can realistically multitask.


----------



## grit (Aug 3, 2010)

mauvais said:


> There is actually very little incentive to write a well behaved app in terms of power/resource usage because noone can see what it's doing or how much it's using.


 
citation needed


----------



## mauvais (Aug 3, 2010)

You what?

So then, how does an end user measure battery drain on a per-app basis? Don't say the battery meter because it's useless. Therefore when someone - i.e. me - is developing, are they going to prioritise features and reliability or intangibles like battery life? You can buy a bunch of phones and try to set up controlled tests but _noone is going to do that_.


----------



## grit (Aug 3, 2010)

mauvais said:


> You what?
> 
> So then, how does an end user measure battery drain on a per-app basis? Don't say the battery meter because it's useless. Therefore when someone - i.e. me - is developing, are they going to prioritise features and reliability or intangibles like battery life? You can buy a bunch of phones and try to set up controlled tests but _noone is going to do that_.


 
Must be imagining the ten testing handsets in my drawer and efficiency code reviews that are done on a monthly basis. If your applications are doing basic stuff like interacting with a few web services and that maybe you could get away with it. However if you are doing any sort of processing on the handset its irresponsible not to test the fuck out of it (if your target audience is consumers maybe its more acceptable).


----------



## mauvais (Aug 3, 2010)

And who writes the most mobile apps in the market? Is it vast engineering corporations or is it individuals doing it quickly and cheaply? And a code review isn't going to show this up - only examining the app lifecycle to see when and how your app is/can be killed off, what persistent services you really need to maintain, etc etc is going to be useful.

Even if your app is made up of things you've decided should persist and therefore use the battery, what are you going to do about it? Remove it completely and you cripple your app. Try and give the user control over what runs in the background and it becomes complicated for everybody. So you probably do nothing. Noone is going to know, and anyway, what you're doing is fairly minimal. It's only if all the installed apps do that that it's a problem.

That's why a task killer is important - *which was the point *- because there is a great big space between what automatic garbage collection can safely dispose of, and what the user can realistically switch off as they see fit.

And despite all of this, what if - as you claimed earlier - it's all the responsibility of the VM? Why even care?


----------



## grit (Aug 3, 2010)

mauvais said:


> And who writes the most mobile apps in the market? Is it vast engineering corporations or is it individuals doing it quickly and cheaply? And a code review isn't going to show this up - only examining the app lifecycle to see when and how your app is/can be killed off, what persistent services you really need to maintain, etc etc is going to be useful.
> 
> Even if your app is made up of things you've decided should persist and therefore use the battery, what are you going to do about it? Remove it completely and you cripple your app. Try and give the user control over what runs in the background and it becomes complicated for everybody. So you probably do nothing. Noone is going to know, and anyway, what you're doing is fairly minimal. It's only if all the installed apps do that that it's a problem.
> 
> ...



1. There is a wide range of individuals/organsiations creating applications
2. A peer code review can highlight inefficient methods.
3. What do you mean "what are you doing to do about it"? I would do what any engineer would do, evaluate the situation and where possible reduce the on handset processing until the required performance is met, hardly fucking rocket surgery.
4. You dont think that users randomly killing processes might perhaps cause a few issues with stability? 
5.  "And despite all of this, what if - as you claimed earlier - it's all the responsibility of the VM? Why even care?" my brain hurts trying to parse this nonsense.


----------



## mauvais (Aug 3, 2010)

grit said:


> the VM already takes care of it, personally I dont think there is a need for a separate one.


Let's start again. The VM takes care of what exactly?


----------



## grit (Aug 3, 2010)

Application life cycle.


----------



## Idaho (Aug 3, 2010)

Actually the app killer has been useful for me to see which apps haven't had their synchs turned off.

For some reason BBC News keeps popping back up.


----------



## mauvais (Aug 3, 2010)

grit said:


> Application life cycle.


Yes, and it does do a good job of that where appropriate. However in developing an app, you can (and have to) write services that either keep running or are scheduled at given intervals. This might be email push, email poll, Facebook sync, network monitoring, anything. Therefore despite the best efforts of the VM, some major part of your app will continue to use memory and battery. That is part and parcel of your app and you *cannot *optimise it away.

This is fine until everyone does it and you have a whole bunch of different running apps/services with no way to prioritise them. If the user is to properly control the situation, they can go into each app and turn off e.g. background synch, but then they'll have to go and turn it on again later.

By far the most preferable option is to push a button and say 'no more of that app for now'. That's what a task manager is for.

Now you could replace it with some properly supported API which required app developers to observe priority or user requests, and back that up with VM behaviour. You could provide proper profiling for each app so developers were held accountable. You could take control of the Market and ban certain behaviours. None of these things have happened, and that's why we need task managers.


----------



## Ted Striker (Aug 3, 2010)

Does anyone know how to turn off the noise it makes when you turn it on (whilst telling you it's _quietly_ brilliant!)??


----------



## mauvais (Aug 3, 2010)

If you put it on silent before shutting down, it doesn't do that.

On the same subject, the power button is complete crap. Especially when it took ages to shutdown, the screen would turn off before it died, and pressing the power button was the only way to check that it was still thinking. Unfortunately the exact same action switches it back on! It really needs to be changed to press-and-hold.


----------



## editor (Aug 3, 2010)

Ted Striker said:


> Does anyone know how to turn off the noise it makes when you turn it on (whilst telling you it's _quietly_ brilliant!)??


Da daa!








http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-antweb-silentboot-BnqC.aspx


----------



## Ted Striker (Aug 3, 2010)

We have an app for that! They should use that as their slogan...

Cheers!


----------



## The Octagon (Aug 3, 2010)

Still discovering improvements made by the 2.2 upgrade - http//m.tvcatchup.com (which wasn't working on my phone before) now runs smoothly and looks really good. The picture quality is great (even over 3G / H), the occasional freeze notwithstanding, but otherwise very impressive.

Shutdown is noticeably faster too.


----------



## grit (Aug 3, 2010)

mauvais said:


> Yes, and it does do a good job of that where appropriate. However in developing an app, you can (and have to) write services that either keep running or are scheduled at given intervals. This might be email push, email poll, Facebook sync, network monitoring, anything. Therefore despite the best efforts of the VM, some major part of your app will continue to use memory and battery. That is part and parcel of your app and you *cannot *optimise it away.
> 
> This is fine until everyone does it and you have a whole bunch of different running apps/services with no way to prioritise them. If the user is to properly control the situation, they can go into each app and turn off e.g. background synch, but then they'll have to go and turn it on again later.
> 
> ...


 
Have a read of this, interesting points:

http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/cwovf/in_light_of_all_the_discussions_right_now_about/


----------



## editor (Aug 3, 2010)

Palm got this nailed. You could just 'flick' apps off the screen if you were done with them, or push them to one side if you wanted to keep them active,


----------



## Idaho (Aug 3, 2010)

editor said:


> Da daa!
> 
> http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-antweb-silentboot-BnqC.aspx


 
Back of the net!

Any recommendations for changing the fonts and schemes, etc? Is that an app thing, a 'skin' thing or a manual piss-about thing?


----------



## grit (Aug 3, 2010)

editor said:


> Palm got this nailed. You could just 'flick' apps off the screen if you were done with them, or push them to one side if you wanted to keep them active,


 
Palm applications are written in html/css/js so its quite a different situation.


----------



## Debord (Aug 3, 2010)

I'm on 3. I've been checking for the update since yesterday and suddenly its appeared....hurrah


----------



## editor (Aug 3, 2010)

grit said:


> Palm applications are written in html/css/js so its quite a different situation.


I don't see what that has to do with it. Android apps could be force closed as they're flicked off the screen the same as they are on the Palm.


----------



## grit (Aug 3, 2010)

editor said:


> I don't see what that has to do with it. Android apps could be force closed as they're flicked off the screen the same as they are on the Palm.


 
Which would make the hard "back" button useless, which is a cornerstone of the operating system design.


----------



## editor (Aug 3, 2010)

grit said:


> Which would make the hard "back" button useless, which is a cornerstone of the operating system design.


The Palm webOS has a back button too, but threads flicked off screen have to be reopened. Seems intuitive enough.


----------



## grit (Aug 3, 2010)

editor said:


> The Palm webOS has a back button too, but threads flicked off screen have to be reopened. Seems intuitive enough.


 
Right so it doesnt allow you to go back an application, just an interface of the current application. Thats a big difference.


----------



## editor (Aug 3, 2010)

grit said:


> Right so it doesnt allow you to go back an application, just an interface of the current application. Thats a big difference.


You can flick back through all your previously open apps via the card view - unless you've decided to close them and flick them off screen. It's a very good system.


----------



## fogbat (Aug 4, 2010)

I'm very pleased with _Vignette_. A bit like an Android version of Hipstamatic.


----------



## Idaho (Aug 4, 2010)

Anyone use one of those remote detector/shut down apps?


----------



## Idaho (Aug 4, 2010)

Ooh.. got one of those swpe type things. Shape writer. Works well mostly.


----------



## editor (Aug 5, 2010)

fogbat said:


> I'm very pleased with _Vignette_. A bit like an Android version of Hipstamatic.


Combined with the HTC's camera it's the best photo editor I've used on any phone so far...


----------



## fogbat (Aug 5, 2010)

Great, innit? Makes even the most mundane of subjects look impressive.

I took a brooding, vaguely menacing photo of what was actually just our recycling.


----------



## mauvais (Aug 5, 2010)

Nice. What settings are you using for this stuff? And is that the paid-for version?


----------



## editor (Aug 5, 2010)

mauvais said:


> Nice. What settings are you using for this stuff? And is that the paid-for version?


That was taken on the default 'vignette/frame random' settings. I bought it although the free version does most of the same things.


----------



## fogbat (Aug 5, 2010)

I've been struggling to find out the difference between the free and paid-for versions. Do you just get more effects with the paid one?


----------



## editor (Aug 5, 2010)

fogbat said:


> I've been struggling to find out the difference between the free and paid-for versions. Do you just get more effects with the paid one?


I don't know - I was just happy to support the developer for producing such a great product.


----------



## fogbat (Aug 5, 2010)

Fair enough


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Aug 5, 2010)

Is there a way of getting it to apply the effects to pics you've already taken? Or can it only do them as it takes the shot?


----------



## editor (Aug 5, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Is there a way of getting it to apply the effects to pics you've already taken? Or can it only do them as it takes the shot?


You can both add the effect as you're taking the shot or apply them afterwards by importing the image from your gallery.

As an aside, Eme's just bought a HTC Legend for a super cheapo £20/month on Vodafone (she wanted somrthing smaller than the Desire). It's a really lovely looking phone.


----------



## fractionMan (Aug 5, 2010)

I've just been playing round with vignette too.  It's ace.



fogbat said:


> I've been struggling to find out the difference between the free and paid-for versions. Do you just get more effects with the paid one?


 
The free version will only take 0.3mp photos.


----------



## fogbat (Aug 5, 2010)

Ah, cheers. Well worth buying the paid version, then.


----------



## fractionMan (Aug 5, 2010)

Yeah, I think it'll be the first app I actually buy.

How's that work anyway?


----------



## fogbat (Aug 5, 2010)

Just tried it - you get to a certain point in installing, and it enters the payment phase. My only option is to use a credit card, but I dunno whether it can be integrated with your phone account.


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 5, 2010)

how does it compare to camera zoom fx?


----------



## cliche guevara (Aug 5, 2010)

editor said:


> As an aside, Eme's just bought a HTC Legend for a super cheapo £20/month on Vodafone (she wanted somrthing smaller than the Desire). It's a really lovely looking phone.


The Legend is a _gorgeous_ looking phone. Why HTC didn;t make the Desire a similiar unibody design I'll never know.


fogbat said:


> Just tried it - you get to a certain point in installing, and it enters the payment phase. My only option is to use a credit card, but I dunno whether it can be integrated with your phone account.


If you don't already have a google checkout account then the first time you purchase an app you'll create one. Every subsequent purchase will be a lot quicker, because it'll just ask you to confirm that the account is correct.


----------



## fogbat (Aug 5, 2010)

Fucksake. My Visa Debit should work on Android Market, but I get a server error every time I try


----------



## fogbat (Aug 5, 2010)

Nevermind - I just created the Google Checkout account in my computer, then it worked automatically on my phone


----------



## mack (Aug 5, 2010)

fogbat said:


> Fucksake. My Visa Debit should work on Android Market, but I get a server error every time I try



Same thing happened to me - same solution Google checkout, gotta try and resist spending too much now!


----------



## Idaho (Aug 5, 2010)

mack said:


> Same thing happened to me - same solution Google checkout, gotta try and resist spending too much now!


 
Yes... I have spent a tenner so far with a few easy clicks. Time to stop I think...


----------



## editor (Aug 5, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> how does it compare to camera zoom fx?


It's miles better. You can't import images into Zoom FX either.


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 6, 2010)

editor said:


> It's miles better. You can't import images into Zoom FX either.


 
I brought zoom fx months ago and I rarely if ever use it (although I do note that it's one of the slowly increasing number that supports froyo's apps to sd)... but I'm impressed by the Vingettised photographs... and it's only three quid. 

It's a shame that I can't give away apps that I don't use, but have paid for.


----------



## editor (Aug 6, 2010)

Here's another example. The full size pic really is rather good.


----------



## Redeyes (Aug 8, 2010)

editor said:


> Traditionally, it seems that Orange are the most tardy of the bunch, which is a pain because I've got an unlocked Orange Desire.


 
I've got an unlocked, unbranded Desire on Orange (via Carphone warehouse) and have just updated to 2.2 manually using this guide...

http://www.geekword.net/manually-install-froyo-htc-desire/

Very straightforward, took about 10 minutes altogether.

Make sure you have at least 25mb of space on your phone before doing it though. 

All my apps and contacts are still in place, just need to have a play around to see what's been improved.


----------



## Redeyes (Aug 9, 2010)

editor said:


> It's miles better. You can't import images into Zoom FX either.


 
I only realised I could re-import photos into Vignette after being on holiday for a week and saving my pics with effects on them as I took them. Was a weight off knowing I could snap away without having to stand there looking through the effects and frames selections while the wife and kids waited around impatiently for me... 

Really smart bit of kit.

Re-sized these from the 5mp originals.


----------



## Boris Sprinkler (Aug 9, 2010)

This is quite useful for creating QR codes: http://qrcode.kaywa.com/


----------



## fractionMan (Aug 9, 2010)

fogbat said:


> Nevermind - I just created the Google Checkout account in my computer, then it worked automatically on my phone


 
I just went through exactly the same thing.


----------



## fractionMan (Aug 9, 2010)

Anyone tried Dungeon hunter?

It's supposed to be a really good diabalo a like.

http://www.gameloft.co.uk/smartphone-games/dungeon-hunter/


----------



## editor (Aug 11, 2010)

I'm still very impressed with the Desire+ Vignette camera combo - it's the best I've used on any phone.
Here's a small feature I've just posted. 

http://www.wirefresh.com/android-vignette-app-htc-desire-awesome-photo-shooting-combo/


----------



## wtfftw (Aug 11, 2010)

Anyone found a screen orientation lock? I like reading on my side which was fine pre froyo but now the screen landscapes to both sides.  Small irk for me. Also am using swiftkey while I can't get swype. It's quite good except I get tempted to say what it suggests rather than what I intended.


----------



## futha (Aug 11, 2010)

drag0n said:


> Anyone found a screen orientation lock? I like reading on my side which was fine pre froyo but now the screen landscapes to both sides.  Small irk for me. Also am using swiftkey while I can't get swype. It's quite good except I get tempted to say what it suggests rather than what I intended.


 
there is an option in phone settings>display and brightness to stop the phone orientation I think.


----------



## Gingerman (Aug 11, 2010)

Can anyone suggest a decent set of earphones for the Desire? last few days Ive had to fiddle around with the ones that came with mine to hear from the right earpiece.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Aug 12, 2010)

Gingerman said:


> Can anyone suggest a decent set of earphones for the Desire? last few days Ive had to fiddle around with the ones that came with mine to hear from the right earpiece.


I think i'm going to order another pair of Razer m100 earphones after Mrs Elvis hoovered up the last pair. Excellent sound quality and very comfortable, shame the price has gone up though. £15 from Play.com 2-3 years ago, nearly double that now but still worth it.


----------



## fogbat (Aug 12, 2010)

Any recommendations for a good RSS reader for Android, please? Cheers.


----------



## joustmaster (Aug 12, 2010)

Newsrob ties in with Google reader quite well


----------



## editor (Aug 12, 2010)

BBC bloke is very excited by Flash coming video coming to the HTC Desire with OS 2.2.
I guess with three quarters of all the video content on the web being in that format, he's got a point. 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10947784


----------



## grit (Aug 12, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> Newsrob ties in with Google reader quite well


 
This was the first application I paid money for on Android, excellent application.


----------



## Chz (Aug 12, 2010)

I've already been taking advantage of the 2.2 update when I can't be arsed to get out of bed to find a radio programme on iPlayer. It's nice that the 3rd party app someone developed (can't remember the name of it now) is no longer required.


----------



## fogbat (Aug 12, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> Newsrob ties in with Google reader quite well


 
Cheers - I'll give it a try. Apparently it runs slowly on the Galaxy S, mind, but what doesn't?


----------



## grit (Aug 12, 2010)

Any suggestions for a good video player that supports flv?


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 12, 2010)

grit said:


> Any suggestions for a good video player that supports flv?


 
RockPlayer is supposed to be good, supports divx as well, I have it, but haven't used it yet.


----------



## The Octagon (Aug 13, 2010)

Rockplayer is very, very good.

Any TV shows I've downloaded (avi, or otherwise), I've just dragged/dropped into the media folder on the sd card and they play perfectly.


----------



## editor (Aug 13, 2010)

Check out Voice Actions - it's very impressive!
http://www.wirefresh.com/google-voice-actions-android-app-says-that-voice-control-is-the-future/


----------



## fogbat (Aug 13, 2010)

editor said:


> Check out Voice Actions - it's very impressive!
> http://www.wirefresh.com/google-voice-actions-android-app-says-that-voice-control-is-the-future/


 
God bless little Mike LeBeau. He's doing _awfully well_ for a twelve year old


----------



## Gromit (Aug 13, 2010)

editor said:


> Check out Voice Actions - it's very impressive!
> http://www.wirefresh.com/google-voice-actions-android-app-says-that-voice-control-is-the-future/


 
I hope it isn't the future as we'll all end up with American accents.

Its the only way to get Google Voice Search to work properly. Put on an accent and mispronouce names. 

Asking it to "Navigate to Llangollen" is an exercise in futility.

It seems to understand "Tescos". However i always get 20 different suggestions for "Gary"


----------



## Idaho (Aug 13, 2010)

Gromit said:


> Asking it to "Navigate to Llangollen" is an exercise in futility.


 

Laan-go-larrn surely?


----------



## editor (Aug 13, 2010)

Gromit said:


> Asking it to "Navigate to Llangollen" is an exercise in futility.


I can't say I'll be doing that often but Voice search seems to have no problem with most other things I throw at it. In fact, at times it's unnervingly accurate.


----------



## fogbat (Aug 13, 2010)

I suspect it's just being merciful. I bet "_Navigate away from Llangollen_" works every time.


----------



## wtfftw (Aug 13, 2010)

Hmm. I've been playing with Vlingo which is another voice command and dictate thingy.


----------



## grit (Aug 13, 2010)

The Octagon said:


> Rockplayer is very, very good.
> 
> Any TV shows I've downloaded (avi, or otherwise), I've just dragged/dropped into the media folder on the sd card and they play perfectly.


 
Its forcing me to buy it before even playing back a file which i find irritating. I came here asking for an video player because rockplayer has been causing me so much trouble.


----------



## Callum91 (Aug 13, 2010)

editor said:


> Check out Voice Actions - it's very impressive!
> http://www.wirefresh.com/google-voice-actions-android-app-says-that-voice-control-is-the-future/


 
I'd love to try this out... but I can't until Orange get their fingers out of their arses and let me have Froyo  .


----------



## grit (Aug 13, 2010)

Whats the current situation getting 2.2 onto the desire? I have a mate with a desire but no OTA update. Is the archive available to do it manually?


----------



## bmd (Aug 13, 2010)

Send text to Nick becomes "Cemtex to Mick" which could be problematic in this day and age.


----------



## Chz (Aug 13, 2010)

grit said:


> Whats the current situation getting 2.2 onto the desire? I have a mate with a desire but no OTA update. Is the archive available to do it manually?


 
If it's not branded or locked, it should show up after a reboot in the firmware update section of "About Phone". If it's branded to a carrier, none of them have released a version for their own phones yet. T-Mob and Voda have said September.


----------



## Gromit (Aug 13, 2010)

Chz said:


> T-Mob and Voda have said September.


 
Damn their eyes! I want it now!!!!


----------



## The Octagon (Aug 13, 2010)

grit said:


> Its forcing me to buy it before even playing back a file which i find irritating. I came here asking for an video player because rockplayer has been causing me so much trouble.


 
Erm, I just skip that screen by pressing 'Back' and I'm good to go


----------



## grit (Aug 13, 2010)

The Octagon said:


> Erm, I just skip that screen by pressing 'Back' and I'm good to go


 
Fucking about with it a bit, you are right it does manage to play the video after pressing back a few times. The fast forwarding seems to be very hit and miss with it.


----------



## mauvais (Aug 14, 2010)

I can't get most of that speech recognition to work. The speak dialogue shows Google search for some reason. It just googles the phrase instead.


----------



## mauvais (Aug 14, 2010)

Turns out I needed to install a new one from Market. Still no better for the claimed new stuff though.

Eta: and you have to set your voice language to English US. Then it sort of works.


----------



## Idaho (Aug 14, 2010)

My first attempt to take, upload and post a pic from the desire. I can't quite work out posting pics on fb yet.


----------



## wtfftw (Aug 14, 2010)

Ooh.  I now have access to app inventor.


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 15, 2010)

There's some sort of charging trick doing the rounds (it's fairly convoluted, but I've tried it, and I'm on about 90% of battery after the phone being off charge for 12 hours, admittedly with only light to medium usage (battery stats are showing an up time of about 2 hours)). The tip seems to have originated from HTC.

"To also help with Battery Life you can do these steps exactly: 1) Turn your device ON and Charge the device for 8 hours or more 2) Unplug the device and Turn the phone OFF and charge for 1 hour 3) Unplug the device Turn ON wait 2 minutes and Turn OFF and charge for another hour Your battery life should almost double, we have tested this on our devices and other agents have seen a major difference as well"

http://androidforums.com/htc-desire/148503-increased-life-desire-battery-really-works.html


----------



## Idaho (Aug 15, 2010)

Do you have to do that everytime? And do you need to start from an empty battery?


----------



## Redeyes (Aug 15, 2010)

grit said:


> Whats the current situation getting 2.2 onto the desire? I have a mate with a desire but no OTA update. Is the archive available to do it manually?


 
I manually updated my unbranded Desire using the method at this link...

http://www.geekword.net/manually-install-froyo-htc-desire/


Just noticed that the latest update for Vignette added a time lapse feature


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 15, 2010)

Idaho said:


> Do you have to do that everytime? And do you need to start from an empty battery?


 
No, and it's not specified, so probably not. My battery was low, but not empty when I did it.


----------



## jamessedgewick (Aug 17, 2010)

how do i check how much bandwidth I have used each month? Do I need an app? 

I got my phone from Tmobile and unlike my other phones from them, I cant see tons of useless stuff added by them. Am I just not noticing their additions?


----------



## Idaho (Aug 17, 2010)

3G watchdog is a free app which logs how much you use.

It's quite amazing how much one does use with just ordinary surfing, mailing, etc.


----------



## editor (Aug 17, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> There's some sort of charging trick doing the rounds (it's fairly convoluted, but I've tried it, and I'm on about 90% of battery after the phone being off charge for 12 hours, admittedly with only light to medium usage (battery stats are showing an up time of about 2 hours)). The tip seems to have originated from HTC.
> 
> "To also help with Battery Life you can do these steps exactly: 1) Turn your device ON and Charge the device for 8 hours or more 2) Unplug the device and Turn the phone OFF and charge for 1 hour 3) Unplug the device Turn ON wait 2 minutes and Turn OFF and charge for another hour Your battery life should almost double, we have tested this on our devices and other agents have seen a major difference as well"
> 
> http://androidforums.com/htc-desire/148503-increased-life-desire-battery-really-works.html


Sounds a bit snake-oily to me.


----------



## Gingerman (Aug 17, 2010)

http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-motalen-batterytimelite-xxwx.aspx
A handy little App


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 17, 2010)

editor said:


> Sounds a bit snake-oily to me.


 
it does, doesn't it. The jury is still out on all the forums I've seen it mentioned. I've not had a proper chance to see if it has changed the battery life, as I stupidly left my phone at my brother's on Sunday night, and only got it back this morning....


----------



## dervish (Aug 17, 2010)

editor said:


> Sounds a bit snake-oily to me.



I tried this this morning and it hasn't made much of a difference, finished the charging cycle at 9:30 this morning and now have 46% left with moderate use. I'd normally expect about 25-35% about now. 

Juice defender and setCPU made a much, much bigger difference but it all helps.


----------



## Redeyes (Aug 17, 2010)

Installed 'Chrome to phone' with the Firefox extension today. Not sure what it does that's any good to me. Any ideas? I get the general gist of it but how can I make use of it? I've seen a few folks raving about it but can't think of anything practical that I can use it for.


----------



## editor (Aug 17, 2010)

Redeyes said:


> Installed 'Chrome to phone' with the Firefox extension today. Not sure what it does that's any good to me. Any ideas? I get the general gist of it but how can I make use of it? I've seen a few folks raving about it but can't think of anything practical that I can use it for.


I use InstaFetch with InstaPaper which seems far more useful.

http://androidforums.com/application-announcements/116831-instafetch-instapaper-android.html


----------



## futha (Aug 19, 2010)

my 3g has decided to stop working. It just says 'turning on' for ages and every now and then flickers on but then goes back to 'turning on'. Bit annoying. Wi-fi works fine.


----------



## wtfftw (Aug 19, 2010)

Tried rebooting? My mums desire (on orange)  was the same and taking the battery out fixed it. She hadn't tried a normal shutdown first tho.


----------



## futha (Aug 19, 2010)

yeah now it is showing the 3g symbol with the little lit up arrows but not connecting to anything still. weird. I am on orange too.


----------



## editor (Aug 19, 2010)

Have you tried switching in and out of flight mode?


----------



## futha (Aug 19, 2010)

how strange, it has just come back on after being off for about 24 hours. ill keep an eye on it and try switching flight mode on and off if it does it again. cheers.


----------



## Callum91 (Aug 19, 2010)

Has the whole 3G sticking on thing not been fixed with Froyo? Happened to me for about 4 hours yesterday , rebooting and switching it in and out of flight mode didn't work either.


----------



## Idaho (Aug 19, 2010)

futha said:


> my 3g has decided to stop working. It just says 'turning on' for ages and every now and then flickers on but then goes back to 'turning on'. Bit annoying. Wi-fi works fine.


 
I came on the thread to post about this problem! Just started happening today. I'm on Orange too. Orange 3g problem? Might give them a bell later.


----------



## Idaho (Aug 19, 2010)

Just phoned Orange. They have a recorded message saying that their mobile network is down.


----------



## futha (Aug 19, 2010)

ah ok, that makes sense, thanks for the info. glad it's not my phone!


----------



## mwgdrwg (Aug 19, 2010)

I rebooted my phone a couple of times before reading this thread. Bloody Orange. Can't do anything web based here either.


----------



## Redeyes (Aug 19, 2010)

editor said:


> I use InstaFetch with InstaPaper which seems far more useful.
> 
> http://androidforums.com/application-announcements/116831-instafetch-instapaper-android.html


 
Cheers, I'll have look at that.

Just bought and installed Tasker this morning and I'm already amazed by its potential even though I have only set up two simple things - open my music app when headphones are plugged in and send phone to voicemail when I turn it on its face...


----------



## futha (Aug 19, 2010)

does anyone else on orange keep getting ghost texts? no number or content just a notification and a blank text message. Maybe it is something to do with Handcent.


----------



## Redeyes (Aug 19, 2010)

futha said:


> does anyone else on orange keep getting ghost texts? no number or content just a notification and a blank text message. Maybe it is something to do with Handcent.


 
I'm using Handcent and get one whenever I re-start my phone, I'm on Orange too.


----------



## editor (Aug 19, 2010)

I'm using the HTC Sense SMS app and no ghost texts for me yet!


----------



## ohmyliver (Aug 19, 2010)

I use handcent, but I'm on 3, not had a ghost text yet


----------



## fredfelt (Aug 19, 2010)

futha said:


> does anyone else on orange keep getting ghost texts? no number or content just a notification and a blank text message. Maybe it is something to do with Handcent.


 
I get those blank texts on an almost daily basis.  I'm on Orange and have no idea why I have them.  I have Handcent SMS - but might get rid of it to see if they stop!


----------



## Idaho (Aug 19, 2010)

I'm on Orange and haven't ever got a blank text. Don't use any SMS though.


----------



## Redeyes (Aug 19, 2010)

Here's what my ghost text looks like, when I open it it's empty.


----------



## fractionMan (Aug 19, 2010)

futha said:


> does anyone else on orange keep getting ghost texts? no number or content just a notification and a blank text message. Maybe it is something to do with Handcent.


 
I do.  It's from 'anonymous' and it's empty.  At least once a day.


----------



## fractionMan (Aug 19, 2010)

Redeyes said:


> I'm using Handcent and get one whenever I re-start my phone, I'm on Orange too.


 
ah. maybe that's it.

*experiments*


----------



## fractionMan (Aug 19, 2010)

Idaho said:


> I'm on Orange and haven't ever got a blank text. Don't use any SMS though.


 
what, never?


----------



## Idaho (Aug 19, 2010)

Hang on.. no - you are right. I do use SMS. I was getting it mixed up with MSN messenger type things.

Orange mobile interweb is working again.


----------



## The Octagon (Aug 20, 2010)

Ok, so Orange mobile network is up and running again, but I can't access sites like Urban due to OrangeWorld's filter 'not recognising my identity' and preventing me from and sites it deems 'for over 18's only'.

The link to change the Orange settings doesn't work either


----------



## Idaho (Aug 20, 2010)

I'm really glad I got my phone through Carphone Warehouse. All that Orange software is a pain in the arse.


----------



## Redeyes (Aug 20, 2010)

Anyone on Orange having problems connecting to the web using 3G? I rarely get a 3G connection and have to use wi-fi for any internet use. Been like this for over a month now, called Orange and they sent me text with an update but it's still not working.

Noticed on the web there's a lot of other folks with the same issue.


----------



## Chz (Aug 20, 2010)

All the networks are having issues with 3G these days. The combined iPhone + Android onslaught is making the infrastructure creak at the seams a bit. O2's held up a bit better, from my experience, but they still have problems. Orange, T-Mob, Voda all have problems.


----------



## The Octagon (Aug 20, 2010)

Hmmm, problem seems to have resolved itself now.


----------



## Idaho (Aug 20, 2010)

Chz said:


> All the networks are having issues with 3G these days. The combined iPhone + Android onslaught is making the infrastructure creak at the seams a bit. O2's held up a bit better, from my experience, but they still have problems. Orange, T-Mob, Voda all have problems.


 
So they have flogged the stuff knowing that they won't be able to meet capacity? Twats.


----------



## Redeyes (Aug 20, 2010)

Idaho said:


> So they have flogged the stuff knowing that they won't be able to meet capacity? Twats.


 
Exactly what I'm thinking. I'm chuffing well annoyed.


----------



## Chz (Aug 20, 2010)

No, people are using far more data then they'd (very) optimistically hoped they would. Still negligence on their part, but not quite so maliciously so.


----------



## futha (Aug 20, 2010)

fractionMan said:


> ah. maybe that's it.
> 
> *experiments*


 
did it stop when you took handcent off? I like handcent, don't really want to remove it but the ghost texts are a bit annoying! Gets me all exited for nothing


----------



## Callum91 (Aug 20, 2010)

I've not been able to get 3G on my Desire all week now ( on Orange ) , it's a pain in the arse only having the internet when I'm at home with Wi-fi , sort of defeats the purpose of it being a MOBILE phone.


----------



## mauvais (Aug 20, 2010)

Mobile data networks are actually a long way *under* capacity, except at peak times. The peak capacity isn't enough because of chronic underinvestment, and there has been chronic underinvestment because data doesn't make any money (nor for that matter does much else these days).

Data doesn't make any money because it's cheap, and it's cheap because operators wanted to make the iPhone model sell in order to sell their own online services. That was a patently stupid idea because portals are clearly irrelevant, but that's pretty much how we got where we are.


----------



## Callum91 (Aug 21, 2010)

My 3G seems to be working again. About fucking time too!


----------



## Boris Sprinkler (Aug 23, 2010)

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/20/orange_outage/


----------



## grit (Aug 24, 2010)

mauvais said:


> Mobile data networks are actually a long way *under* capacity, except at peak times. The peak capacity isn't enough because of chronic underinvestment, and there has been chronic underinvestment because data doesn't make any money (nor for that matter does much else these days).
> 
> Data doesn't make any money because it's cheap, and it's cheap because operators wanted to make the iPhone model sell in order to sell their own online services. That was a patently stupid idea because portals are clearly irrelevant, but that's pretty much how we got where we are.



Pretty much you have a lot of people coming from oldschool telcos who dont understand the market. At least the walled garden approach has been pretty much killed at this stage. They dont understand they are essentially a dumb pipe.


----------



## mauvais (Aug 24, 2010)

Exactly, but they can't afford to be dumb pipes because their whole business model is structured around value added services. The walled garden or primary portal was supposed to be the answer but it was obvious by 2005 or before that it was never going to work - the iPhone and mass data usage wasn't til 2007 yet they still went ahead with it.

Something's eventually going to go sour for both operators and consumers.


----------



## King Biscuit Time (Sep 2, 2010)

Right. I'm sorting myself out a desire this week. 
Any decent offers around? Any networks to avoid?


----------



## Callum91 (Sep 2, 2010)

Is there any word on when Orange will be rolling out Froyo?


----------



## madzone (Sep 2, 2010)

You know that google skymap thing? Do you actually have to point it at the sky?


----------



## editor (Sep 2, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> Is there any word on when Orange will be rolling out Froyo?


Mid September. 

Madzone: yes, of course. 

That Wordfeud Scrabble app is ace. Me and Em can play each other wherever we are!


----------



## madzone (Sep 2, 2010)

So, why when I point it at my bedroom ceiling does it show constellations etc?


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 2, 2010)

madzone said:


> So, why when I point it at my bedroom ceiling does it show constellations etc?


 
Because you ceiling is above you. 

It's rather similar in that regard to the sky.


----------



## madzone (Sep 2, 2010)

But if I point it at the floor it does the same. Albeit with different constellations.


----------



## Idaho (Sep 2, 2010)

This might be a bit radical for you Cornish - but the world is round. With stars all around it!


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 2, 2010)

madzone said:


> But if I point it at the floor it does the same. Albeit with different constellations.


 
You'll also note that it show's a horizon?

Now also note that the earth is round, and spins.

Now think a bit


----------



## madzone (Sep 2, 2010)

Can you all stop being so fucking sarky please? 

I meant do you have to go outside and actually point it at the sky?


----------



## editor (Sep 2, 2010)

madzone said:


> Can you all stop being so fucking sarky please?
> 
> I meant do you have to go outside and actually point it at the sky?


It's a bit hard to identify planets and constellations in the night sky from behind your bedroom curtains.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 2, 2010)

madzone said:


> Can you all stop being so fucking sarky please?
> 
> I meant do you have to go outside and actually point it at the sky?


 

Well, you can if you want to.

It simply shows you the constellations as they are at that particular time and place. If you point it at your ceiling it will show you what you'd see if your ceiling was't there.


----------



## madzone (Sep 2, 2010)

Right. Thank you.


----------



## madzone (Sep 2, 2010)

editor said:


> It's a bit hard to identify planets and constellations in the night sky from behind your bedroom curtains.


 That seems to be the exact opposite of what the others are saying and why it was confusing me.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 2, 2010)

madzone said:


> Right. Thank you.


 
Quite what confused you is beyond me though, even my mum understood it


----------



## madzone (Sep 2, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Quite what confused you is beyond me though, even my mum understood it


 
Yeah, well I'm just a thick twat.

Editor seems to be saying I have to go outside to do it though so perhaps I'm not alone.....


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 2, 2010)

madzone said:


> Yeah, well I'm just a thick twat.
> 
> Editor seems to be saying I have to go outside to do it though so perhaps I'm not alone.....


 
You need to be outside to get the full benefit of it, actually looking at the sky and using your phone to help you identify what you're seeing is pretty cool   I'd imagine down your way with the lack of light pollution it will work really well.


----------



## madzone (Sep 2, 2010)

I might try it tonight - it's clear for the first time in 
a while.


----------



## Idaho (Sep 2, 2010)

madzone said:


> Yeah, well I'm just a thick twat.
> 
> Editor seems to be saying I have to go outside to do it though so perhaps I'm not alone.....


 
No - he was saying how could a phone identify the stars from inside - and therefore, how was it working inside... answer - it doesn't need to 'see' anything, it just works out north, south, up and down and gives you a star map based on that.


----------



## fogbat (Sep 2, 2010)

I've tried this on my Galaxy S, but the compass is a bit shite, so it doesn't work too well


----------



## cliche guevara (Sep 2, 2010)

editor said:


> That Wordfeud Scrabble app is ace. Me and Em can play each other wherever we are!



As soon as I get a decent phone WordFeud will be my main entertainment at work. I feel like I've chickened out by telling you all about it then deleting it!


----------



## madamv (Sep 2, 2010)

fractionMan said:


> I do.  It's from 'anonymous' and it's empty.  At least once a day.


 
Its irritating me....  I dont have handcent....  must be another app....

My phone still wont turn off....   I feel like I need to sit down with someone with the same phone so they can show me what it really can do


----------



## mwgdrwg (Sep 4, 2010)

I got a ghost text last night. Only had one once before, when I updated to 2.1


----------



## madamv (Sep 5, 2010)

My camera is all blurry...  All my pics seem to have got a fuzz about them.  I must have accidentally changed a setting or something?  Can anyone help?


----------



## editor (Sep 5, 2010)

Are you sure you're holding it  really steady? Try getting someone else to take a pic and see if it's the same for them.


----------



## futha (Sep 5, 2010)

madamv said:


> My camera is all blurry...  All my pics seem to have got a fuzz about them.  I must have accidentally changed a setting or something?  Can anyone help?


 
I am not too keen on how it takes photos myself. The trackpad thing isn't very good and touching the screen and holding doesn't always seem to work very well either. Maybe I am doing it wrong though.


----------



## futha (Sep 7, 2010)

weird. my camera seems to work ok now. No idea why it wasn't doing it the other night when I long pressed the screen. Maybe something to do with being dark?


----------



## fredfelt (Sep 7, 2010)

Lens dirty?

(in reply to photo's blurry!)


----------



## editor (Sep 7, 2010)

All mobile cameras can struggle to focus in the dark. Either move the subject closer to a light or if that's impossible, switch to manual focus


----------



## futha (Sep 11, 2010)

anyone else on orange having 3g issues (again!)?


----------



## Callum91 (Sep 11, 2010)

futha said:


> anyone else on orange having 3g issues (again!)?


 
Yup , it's a pain in the arse. I get 3G+ for about 2 seconds then it decides to go straight back to G.


----------



## Idaho (Sep 11, 2010)

Mine seems to have G, 3G, H, and E. No idea what they all are. But they seem to work the same.


----------



## futha (Sep 11, 2010)

I am getting e-mails so it is obviously connecting every now and then but I can't get on web pages or anything. annoying.


----------



## mauvais (Sep 11, 2010)

Much the same on O2 yesterday.


----------



## Dan U (Sep 11, 2010)

Idaho said:


> Mine seems to have G, 3G, H, and E. No idea what they all are. But they seem to work the same.


#

me neither, anyone know?

i am mostly on H it seems


----------



## mauvais (Sep 11, 2010)

G is GPRS (before 3G) and fairly slow.

E is EDGE which is enhanced GPRS. A bit quicker but still 2G.

3G is UMTS without HSDPA; in other words this is the first iteration of the 3G data network, and is quite a lot quicker.

H is HSDPA, a later iteration of the 3G data network, the fastest current network in the UK, and is getting on for broadband speed.


----------



## editor (Sep 11, 2010)

HSDPA appears as 3G+ on my phone.


----------



## mauvais (Sep 11, 2010)

Orange changed it on their phones.


----------



## Chz (Sep 12, 2010)

Yeah, I stayed with Voda on the basis of their excellent voice coverage. But since then I've found their 3G network is kinda pants.


----------



## Winot (Sep 12, 2010)

Question - the missus has just got a Legend on Vodafone and can't get a network connection to the Google servers to download apps etc.  She already has a Google a/c.  It's connecting via wifi to the www no problem.  Online sources suggest a factory reset - any other ides before she does that?


----------



## Dan U (Sep 12, 2010)

Thanks mauvais

I've got some other questions for the more technically astute.

Does using my maps/sat nav app use any of my data
And would it and my gps work in Australia? Or would it go via the UK and bankrupt me!


----------



## mauvais (Sep 12, 2010)

Maps does because it downloads all the maps and route information, unlike say a TomTom which has it all on the memory card. GPS works without data but it's not much use - just a pointer on a blank map. Yes, it would bankrupt you. You could try getting an Australian SIM and data deal either out there or in advance.

(I'm told that if you put in a route to start navigating, it downloads the surrounding area for it ASAP so you don't have to worry about data coverage on the move, but this isn't much use in Australia)


----------



## Dan U (Sep 12, 2010)

Cheers!


----------



## Gromit (Sep 13, 2010)

IMAP of my second gmail account is no longer updating on my phone.

I read some where that 2.2 users have been reporting this problem and so rushed to see if i'd been updated to Froyo automatically overnight. 

I hadn't. So it either it isn't just a 2.2 prob or my prob is unrelated.


----------



## girasol (Sep 13, 2010)

Still waiting for my upgrade, should be anyday now according to T-mobile...

This link is useful for those who aren't up to date on the latest news regarding the HTC (i.e. me) and who are wondering how/when this mythical upgrade is going to take place:

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/34884/upgrade-htc-desire-to-froyo


----------



## editor (Sep 13, 2010)

My nephew rooted his HTC Desire and got rid if all the branded cack in the process. I'm awfully tempted although Orange have said they're going to reduce the amount of pointless shovelware that comes with their 2.2 installation.

You should check out scifisam's phone - it's been customised to the max and looks awesome!


----------



## Idaho (Sep 14, 2010)

I have found that the combination of me hammering the new toy less (an hour or so surfing, a few calls and some fiddling) and the battery settling down - means that I can easily go a couple of days between recharges.

Also worked out that usb tethering to use the phone as a modem worked a treat.


----------



## Gromit (Sep 14, 2010)

Idaho said:


> Also worked out that usb tethering to use the phone as a modem worked a treat.


 
You have 2.2 then?


----------



## editor (Sep 14, 2010)

Gromit said:


> You have 2.2 then?


USB tethering works with 2.1, it's the hotspot stuff that comes with 2.2.



> Using your phone as a modem (tethering)
> 
> Get online with your notebook or desktop computer at any time, using your phone’s data connection. For information on setting up and using the data connection, see Data connection.
> 
> ...



http://www.htc.com/www/howto.aspx?id=781&type=1&p_id=312


----------



## Winot (Sep 16, 2010)

Winot said:


> Question - the missus has just got a Legend on Vodafone and can't get a network connection to the Google servers to download apps etc.  She already has a Google a/c.  It's connecting via wifi to the www no problem.  Online sources suggest a factory reset - any other ides before she does that?


 
Fixed this - turned out the problem was that I'd set up her bethere e-mail on the phone before connecting to the app store - needed to do a factory reset then immediately connect to app store which worked fine - haven't tried setting up her e-mail again to see if that works.

I can't see why this should have been a problem but there you go.  At the risk of attracting brickbats, the UI and set-up is a bit clunky compared to the iPhone.


----------



## mauvais (Sep 17, 2010)

New system update available - nothing major AFAICS. Remember you need 25mb free on the phone or it fails half way through.


----------



## editor (Sep 17, 2010)

mauvais said:


> New system update available - nothing major AFAICS. Remember you need 25mb free on the phone or it fails half way through.


 Orange users will have to wait even longer for the 2.2 update: http://www.wirefresh.com/orange-delays-htc-desire-android-froyo-2-2-update-yet-again/


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Sep 17, 2010)

i wish T-Mobile would pull their fingers out, seems like we'll be last to the froyo party


----------



## mauvais (Sep 17, 2010)

The changelist for the minor update is at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=779608

New notifications are quite nice.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 17, 2010)

Elvis Parsley said:


> i wish T-Mobile would pull their fingers out, seems like we'll be last to the froyo party


 
I'm seriously considering rooting mine, this waiting is bollocks. 

Why do the networks insist on sticking their custom shite on the phones? Nobody wants it.


----------



## disco_dave_2000 (Sep 17, 2010)

Ok a bit of a dunce question here. On the phone element, in particular the contact book - is there any way to make them NOT respond to a one touch. I keep missing the person I want to call and accidently phoning someone else.


----------



## madeinbrixton (Sep 19, 2010)

just checked my desire, looks like t mobile 2.2 update is here!


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 19, 2010)

madeinbrixton said:


> just checked my desire, looks like t mobile 2.2 update is here!


 
Oooooooooh, updating mine now!


----------



## madeinbrixton (Sep 19, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Oooooooooh, updating mine now!


 
back up first!


----------



## editor (Sep 19, 2010)

*rushes to check his Orange-branded HTC Desire
*disappointment follows. Again


----------



## Callum91 (Sep 19, 2010)

I have a feeling Froyo will never come to orange.


----------



## mwgdrwg (Sep 19, 2010)

Orange were shit with the Hero 2.1 update, I see nothing's changed.


----------



## girasol (Sep 19, 2010)

Mine is being done now (T-mobile) - fingers crossed...


----------



## editor (Sep 19, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> I have a feeling Froyo will never come to orange.


They've *promised*:
http://www.wirefresh.com/orange-delays-htc-desire-android-froyo-2-2-update-yet-again/

Unless all their Orange-branded cack is removed off the phone, I'm going to root the thing.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 19, 2010)

All done, no problems 

Looks nice, seems pretty snappy and quick, couple of new gizmos, I'm happy


----------



## girasol (Sep 19, 2010)

Yep, pretty smooth here too (so far!) - doesn't seem particularly faster though.  I see a few new apps...  Just hoping the battery life will improve!


----------



## Gromit (Sep 19, 2010)

Yay I have Froyo!


----------



## ohmyliver (Sep 20, 2010)

all new froyo people, you might like to get sdmove as it scans through your apps and shows you a list of which ones can be moved to the sd card, and then you can click through to the relevant app settings page for easy moving...


----------



## mauvais (Sep 20, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> all new froyo people, you might like to get sdmove as it scans through your apps and shows you a list of which ones can be moved to the sd card, and then you can click through to the relevant app settings page for easy moving...


Good tip, ta.


----------



## Gromit (Sep 20, 2010)

Good tip but my card is full to the brim with music atm. 

I need to get a 16gb card before I start to move aps to it. 

So I guess its time I upgraded. 

Anyone know of a good SD card seller?


----------



## mauvais (Sep 20, 2010)

A little tip I learnt from XDA today is that if you go to People and use two fingers to scroll (just at first, then you can use one), it scrolls through the letters A-Z much like the iPod does when scrolling quickly enough.

My problem at the mo is that I have 16MB free on the internal memory - I've got lots of apps but most are on the SD card. Any tips for getting it down or working out where it goes? I've looked through a lot of the app info pages and can't really understand where 140MB or so would go.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Sep 20, 2010)

still on 2.1 here (t-moblie) 

this morning my wallpaper had reverted to what i'd been using before i installed Launcher Pro so i'm wondering if that's stopping it from updating. i also only had 15.4Mb of internal memory, which i thought was enough but maybe not. i'm, just backing everything up now and i'll have another go.

annoyed


----------



## mauvais (Sep 20, 2010)

It shouldn't stop it finding & downloading an update, but it will stop it applying it (fails halfway through due to lack of space). You need 25MB.

Lack of space also silently stops the Market bothering to download new apps, I found, but you have to be pretty low on it to see that.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Sep 20, 2010)

to be on the safe side i freed up 50Mb and turned off Launcher Pro, but it's still telling me no new updates are available 


edit: just spoken to t-mobile support, they have no knowledge or record of a 2.2 update for the Desire. even more


----------



## Gromit (Sep 20, 2010)

Elvis Parsley said:


> to be on the safe side i freed up 50Mb and turned off Launcher Pro, but it's still telling me no new updates are available


 
Have you got astro installed?

If so look on your drive for an update file that might have auto installed but then the installation canceled due to space restrictions.

Use Edit then Delete to get rid of it.

Launch the Update checker again afterwards.

The update checker checks your drive for the file, if you have it then it considers you not in need of an update whether or not its actually installed to your phone.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Sep 20, 2010)

good idea gromit but alas no, astro didn't turn anything up. i checked manually and then searched for "2.2". nothing

Just found this on the t-mobile forums:



> HTC Desire 2.2 update
> Posted: 2 days ago
> Hi all,
> 
> ...



looks like i might have to wait a bit longer

 <---- me


----------



## girasol (Sep 20, 2010)

Elvis Parsley said:


> to be on the safe side i freed up 50Mb and turned off Launcher Pro, but it's still telling me no new updates are available
> 
> 
> edit: just spoken to t-mobile support, they have no knowledge or record of a 2.2 update for the Desire. even more


 
Who the heck did you speak to?  I got mine yesterday by going to 'Settings-> About Phone -> System Software Updates' then Check Now.  But yes, maybe you're further down the queue...

That is the curse of big companies, no one knows what's going on!


----------



## Gromit (Sep 20, 2010)

T-mobile support staff only 'know' what they can find on the t-mobile intranet pages.

Intranet pages which are very lacking when it comes to Android and technical detail. Sales and accounts stuff good, techy stuff bad.


----------



## mauvais (Sep 20, 2010)

The same thing happened to me, by the way, with an unbranded, unlocked phone. Lots of people including on here were seeing updates whilst I had nothing. A day later and it all appeared. I have no idea but maybe it's released in batches so if it's a catastrophe, it only bricks so many people's phones.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Sep 20, 2010)

mauvais said:


> ....maybe it's released in batches so if it's a catastrophe, it only bricks so many people's phones.


 
that occurred to me after i heard about the .de release. i'll wait another day rather than end up with german language apps on my phone ta

also, has 2.2 done away with any of the bundled crap, T-Mobile logo on reboot etc? if it hasn't then ed's post about the one shot root app on the other android thread looks good


----------



## wtfftw (Sep 21, 2010)

I've had an update to froyo. Can't remember what it said apart from better something to do with multiple gmail accounts and something to do with the keyboard. Not exactly awake tbh.


----------



## Hocus Eye. (Sep 21, 2010)

I am new to smartphones, only had my HTC Desire for 5 days. What is this 'rooting' business?


----------



## joustmaster (Sep 21, 2010)

Hocus Eye. said:


> I am new to smartphones, only had my HTC Desire for 5 days. What is this 'rooting' business?


you probably dont need to worry about it.

it involves a hack to the phone that allows you a great level of control of stuff on the phone. basically root access, so you can fuck shit up that they dont want you to fuck up.


----------



## Idaho (Sep 21, 2010)

Hocus Eye. said:


> I am new to smartphones, only had my HTC Desire for 5 days. What is this 'rooting' business?


 
Rooting means leaving the phone overnight in a bucket of water. It improves battery and download times and means you can download stuff for free.


----------



## girasol (Sep 21, 2010)

Rooting is the kind of thing I would have done when I was a lot younger and had no other responsabilities in life and nothing better to do with my time than to spend hour after hour after hour figuring out how to fix what I had just broken


----------



## disco_dave_2000 (Sep 21, 2010)

I'm on T-Mobile and it's updating now ! Says it is version 2.10.405.2 - can't really see any difference to be honest - then again i've only had the phone about a week


----------



## girasol (Sep 21, 2010)

disco_dave_2000 said:


> I'm on T-Mobile and it's updating now ! Says it is version 2.10.405.2 - can't really see any difference to be honest - then again i've only had the phone about a week



On my T-Mobile the Android Version is 2.2, build/software number 2.12.110.2

for all you droid snobs out there (or should I say iPhone snobs?)
http://9gag.com/gag/37330


----------



## Hocus Eye. (Sep 21, 2010)

I have been installing lots of apps on my Desire including 'Lookout' the security and anti-virus app.


----------



## cliche guevara (Sep 21, 2010)

Hocus Eye. said:


> I have been installing lots of apps on my Desire including 'Lookout' the security and anti-virus app.


 
You don't need anti virus for Android. It's a con. See also: task killers.


----------



## ohmyliver (Sep 22, 2010)

Apparently the 2.2 update is now rolling out on orange. 

And there's been an update to the gmail app, which amongst other things allows the viewing of quoted text,  about bloody time.


----------



## editor (Sep 22, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> Apparently the 2.2 update is now rolling out on orange.
> 
> And there's been an update to the gmail app, which amongst other things allows the viewing of quoted text,  about bloody time.


Nothing for me on Orange yet. Oh, and the GMail update only works on 2.2 phones.


----------



## Boris Sprinkler (Sep 22, 2010)

cliche guevara said:


> You don't need anti virus for Android. It's a con. See also: task killers.


 
http://www.kaspersky.com/news?id=207576156


----------



## Boris Sprinkler (Sep 22, 2010)

anyway,  does anybody know if it is possible to buy a replacement back cover for the desire as I was putting mine in a protective case I bought from amazon and I dropped it, cracking the camera lens cover.


----------



## editor (Sep 22, 2010)

Boris Sprinkler said:


> http://www.kaspersky.com/news?id=207576156


Never trust reports from anti virus software companies. You really don't need anti-virus apps.


----------



## editor (Sep 22, 2010)

Boris Sprinkler said:


> anyway,  does anybody know if it is possible to buy a replacement back cover for the desire as I was putting mine in a protective case I bought from amazon and I dropped it, cracking the camera lens cover.


Yeah - there's loads of companies offering them: 
http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/genuine-htc-desire-replacement-back-cover-bc-e410-silver-p24555.htm

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=replacement+htc+desire+back+cover


----------



## cliche guevara (Sep 22, 2010)

Boris Sprinkler said:


> http://www.kaspersky.com/news?id=207576156


 
That turned out to be total bollocks though, iirc. And yeah, what ed said.


----------



## Boris Sprinkler (Sep 22, 2010)

cliche guevara said:


> That turned out to be total bollocks though, iirc. And yeah, what ed said.


 
You wouldn't trust reports from AV companies? Why? Next you'll be telling me that they write virii in order to sell their products. 

In this case it it not self replicating code but  a trojan requiring user interaction to install (utilising standard social engineering techniques to encourage users to run it - hence the term trojan).

Anyway, I'll see your bollocks comment and raise you a Fakeplayer.a

http://www.virustotal.com/file-scan...01fd198dd4f4a5f188bbbb6ffcf4db5f14-1285002676

(the following is snippets of code from the above in case you are interested in what it does)


```
Package: RU.apk
Package Name: org.me.androidapplication1
Permissions Requested: android.permission.SEND_SMS
Contents:
    ./classes.dex
    ./res
    ./res/drawable
    ./res/drawable/icon.png
    ./res/layout
    ./res/layout/main.xml
    ./resources.arsc
    ./AndroidManifest.xml
    ./META-INF
    ./META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
    ./META-INF/CERT.RSA
    ./META-INF/CERT.SF

snip

[000924] org.me.androidapplication1.MoviePlayer.onCreate:(Landroid/os/Bundle;)V
...
000c: invoke-virtual {v6}, Lorg/me/androidapplication1/DataHelper;.canwe:()Z
000f: move-result v2
0010: if-eqz v2, 0040 // +0030

snip

0012: new-instance v9, Landroid/widget/TextView; // class@000e
0014: invoke-direct {v9, v12}, Landroid/widget/TextView;.<init>
0017: const-string v8, "?????????, ????????????? ?????? ? ?????????.."
0019: invoke-virtual {v9, v8}, Landroid/widget/TextView;.setText
001c: invoke-virtual {v12, v9}, Lorg/me/androidapplication1/MoviePlayer;.setContentView

snip

001f: invoke-static {}, Landroid/telephony/SmsManager;.getDefault:()
0022: move-result-object v0
0023: const-string v1, "3353" // string@0001
0025: const-string v3, "798657" // string@0003
0027: const/4 v2, #int 0 // #0
0028: const/4 v4, #int 0 // #0
0029: const/4 v5, #int 0 // #0
002a: invoke-virtual/range {v0, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5}, Landroid/telephony/SmsManager;.sendTextMessage

snip

0035: const-string v1, "3353" // string@0001
0037: const/4 v2, #int 0 // #0
0038: const/4 v4, #int 0 // #0
0039: const/4 v5, #int 0 // #0
003a: invoke-virtual/range {v0, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5}, Landroid/telephony/SmsManager;.sendTextMessage

snip

003d: invoke-virtual {v6}, Lorg/me/androidapplication1/DataHelper;.was:()V
0040: invoke-virtual {v12}, Lorg/me/androidapplication1/MoviePlayer;.finish:()V
0043: return-void
```


And cheers for the replacement links. I'm not as cool hand luke as I make out.


----------



## ohmyliver (Sep 22, 2010)

editor said:


> Nothing for me on Orange yet. Oh, and the GMail update only works on 2.2 phones.


 
ahh I was going by http://twitter.com/conorfromorange/status/25135965233 and http://www.coolsmartphone.com/news6248.html which could well be wrong. 

Shame about the gmail update being 2.2, the show quoted text thingy really should have been in all versions of the gmail app.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Sep 22, 2010)

i'm finally froyo-ed. still seeing what's new, but definitely nippier


----------



## editor (Sep 22, 2010)

Does anyone know if the fact that my Orange-branded phone is unlocked is going to make a difference to me getting the Froyo update from Orange?


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Sep 22, 2010)

hmmm german app found, swype doesn't work, no sign of the new photo gallery layout, can't turn off launcher pro as default home screen


----------



## wtfftw (Sep 22, 2010)

You have to uninstall swype (including installer) and get a fresh one. Make sure your browser goes to mobile sites tho or the swype site won't think you're an android device. Baffled me for a while as I'd turned mobile sites off as I find standard ones tend to be fine on the desire.

Try watching bbc iplayer or 4od. I recall that being satisfying when I got froyo.


----------



## mwgdrwg (Sep 22, 2010)

editor said:


> Nothing for me on Orange yet. Oh, and the GMail update only works on 2.2 phones.



I have a Hero and am stuck with 2.1 (unless I root).

Why have this market segmantation? I don't see why this update to GMail wouldn't work on 2.1


----------



## editor (Sep 22, 2010)

If the user responses on Wirefresh are anything to go by, a lot of people aren't getting their Froyo updates at the moment.

http://www.wirefresh.com/are-you-getting-the-orange-htc-desire-froyo-update/


----------



## ohmyliver (Sep 22, 2010)

you could always try setting the clock on your desire into the future and then trying?

*eta* this date-foolery apparently worked for 3's 2.1 update for the hero.


----------



## Dan U (Sep 23, 2010)

does anyone else find if they switch the phone off it just doesn't switch off. gets stuck on 'turning off' with the darkened screen?

no 2.2 on O2 yet either


----------



## Gromit (Sep 23, 2010)

Dan U said:


> does anyone else find if they switch the phone off it just doesn't switch off. gets stuck on 'turning off' with the darkened screen?
> 
> no 2.2 on O2 yet either


 
Thats usually because the phone is backing up. Disabling backups with increase shut down times but having backups is good m'kay.


----------



## wtfftw (Sep 23, 2010)

Mine used to take eons to turn off. Tried things like unmounting the sd card first but made no difference. Just take the battery out.   fixed with froyo btw -now turns off nicely.


----------



## Dan U (Sep 23, 2010)

cheers


----------



## Gromit (Sep 23, 2010)

I'm noticing better battery life with 2.2 it must be said.


----------



## editor (Sep 23, 2010)

Where's my frigging update!


----------



## Callum91 (Sep 23, 2010)

editor said:


> Where's my frigging update!


 
Orange are taking liberties now. What the hell is taking them so long?!


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 24, 2010)

Dan U said:


> does anyone else find if they switch the phone off it just doesn't switch off. gets stuck on 'turning off' with the darkened screen?
> 
> no 2.2 on O2 yet either



Mine did this occasionally, 2.2 fixed it.


----------



## editor (Sep 25, 2010)

Some fella has usefully added some info on wirefresh about the update:
From the orange website http://help.orange.co.uk/orangeuk/support/personal/519269
says
If you are running software version number 1.15.61.10 then HTC has recently advised us you will first need to update your devices to 1.22.61.1.
HTC will be making the 1.22.61.1 update available early next week. Once you have updated to 1.22.61.1, you can then update to 2.17.61.2 via the method described above.To check to see which software version your device is running. From homescreen – Menu Key > Settings > Software information. The number you require is listed as the fifth entry and is labelled “Software number”.
There you have it NOT everyone can update their desire until NEXT WEEK sometine

Bah!


----------



## Dan U (Sep 27, 2010)

at least you have a date and some possibility. O2 are still quiet (or they were last time i googled)


----------



## DexterTCN (Sep 27, 2010)

Hi all, I've a little problem with my new android.  I'm a noob with this thing it's only a week old (mini xperia 10 ) but I'm reasonably intelligent, I've set up juice and task-killer apps etc.  and have googled the fuck out of the net and searched here too but I can't find the (no doubt glaringly obvious) answer.

It's about double notification as I've installed handcent - the original text app is also notifying in the top bar when I receive sms.   I've checked and apparently you go into the original text app and turn off notification by selecting the menu key to access the settings.   However...when I hit the menu key in the original text app...it only gives me 'delete several' or 'edit recipients' as options...no settings option.   Laugh at me and tell me what I've done wrong.


----------



## girasol (Sep 27, 2010)

Gromit said:


> I'm noticing better battery life with 2.2 it must be said.



Yep, seem to be getting an extra 3-4 hours per charge so far.


----------



## cliche guevara (Sep 28, 2010)

DexterTCN said:


> Hi all, I've a little problem with my new android.  I'm a noob with this thing it's only a week old (mini xperia 10 ) but I'm reasonably intelligent, I've set up juice and task-killer apps etc.  and have googled the fuck out of the net and searched here too but I can't find the (no doubt glaringly obvious) answer.
> 
> It's about double notification as I've installed handcent - the original text app is also notifying in the top bar when I receive sms.   I've checked and apparently you go into the original text app and turn off notification by selecting the menu key to access the settings.   However...when I hit the menu key in the original text app...it only gives me 'delete several' or 'edit recipients' as options...no settings option.   Laugh at me and tell me what I've done wrong.


 Are you actually at the front screen of the messaging app? If you're in a sub menu or in a message then the menu options are different.


----------



## editor (Sep 28, 2010)

Dan U said:


> at least you have a date and some possibility. O2 are still quiet (or they were last time i googled)


o2 say it's being released now.

http://www.wirefresh.com/o2-tries-again-for-the-htc-desire-froyo-android-2-2-update/


----------



## DexterTCN (Sep 28, 2010)

cliche guevara said:


> Are you actually at the front screen of the messaging app? If you're in a sub menu or in a message then the menu options are different.


 Ah...then I'm stuck in a 'new message' menu and no button or option appears to take me back to the main menu.   Didn't take me long to fuck this up. (googles mini experia user guide, sees that notification is in sony ericson, not messaging, menu).  Hope that works.


----------



## cliche guevara (Sep 29, 2010)

DexterTCN said:


> Ah...then I'm stuck in a 'new message' menu and no button or option appears to take me back to the main menu.   Didn't take me long to fuck this up. (googles mini experia user guide, sees that notification is in sony ericson, not messaging, menu).  Hope that works.


 
I think the standard messaging app returns you to the home screen when you press 'back' from a message, once you reach the elusive menu there should be an option to change this to make the back button take you to the list of messages, which is effectively the front screen of the app.


----------



## mrs quoad (Sep 29, 2010)

Ooo!

I got a 2.2 system update (t-mobile) this morning!

EXCITING.


----------



## mrs quoad (Sep 29, 2010)

However, I was 2 days into a fresh trial of swype. Having decided to give it another go.

It now no longer works 

Anyone else?


----------



## wtfftw (Sep 29, 2010)

mrs quoad said:


> However, I was 2 days into a fresh trial of swype. Having decided to give it another go.
> 
> It now no longer works
> 
> Anyone else?


 After 2.2? You need to uninstall swype and the installer then reinstall. Make sure your browser uses mobile versions of sites or the swype page won't think you're an android device.


----------



## bmd (Sep 30, 2010)

mrs quoad said:


> However, I was 2 days into a fresh trial of swype. Having decided to give it another go.
> 
> It now no longer works
> 
> Anyone else?



Not sure about that but I find Swiftkey a much faster option. Have you tried it?


----------



## ohmyliver (Sep 30, 2010)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> Not sure about that but I find Swiftkey a much faster option. Have you tried it?


 
And it's only 60p until the end of today


----------



## Idaho (Sep 30, 2010)

mrs quoad said:


> However, I was 2 days into a fresh trial of swype. Having decided to give it another go.
> 
> It now no longer works
> 
> Anyone else?



I use Shapewriter. Does the same thing. Some say that it's better.


----------



## fogbat (Sep 30, 2010)

I've had a play with Swiftkey, and it's very clever, but it doesn't have the same _OMG, I am in the FUTURE!_ feel that Swype does. 

I like not having to peck at each individual key, even though Swiftkey does generally guess the right word after no more than a couple of letters.


----------



## girasol (Sep 30, 2010)

Ok, I'm now properly impressed with the upgrade!  I conducted a little test.  Before upgrade, I'd leave my phone charging every night, then have it on all day - from morning to evening the battery would have gone down by 3/4 - i.e. in about 16 hours.

Yesterday, after charging it overnight, I turned the phone on at 8am, and now, a full 26 hours up time later, and I still have 50% left.  I didn't charge the phone overnight, just left it on.  Think I'll be able to go without charging for 2 whole days.  Which is how it should have been in the first place!!!!  I hated the crap battery life.


----------



## editor (Sep 30, 2010)

*sulks at complete lack of an upgrade


----------



## fogbat (Sep 30, 2010)

editor said:


> *sulks at complete lack of an upgrade


 
They're definitely victimising you


----------



## wtfftw (Sep 30, 2010)

.


----------



## girasol (Sep 30, 2010)

editor said:


> *sulks at complete lack of an upgrade


 
the battery charge is * almost * gone now, I used GPS continously for 20 mins at lunchtime, and took some photos...


----------



## fredfelt (Sep 30, 2010)

editor said:


> *sulks at complete lack of an upgrade


 
Miss BP was upgraded a few days ago to Froyo.  She's taking great pleasure in letting me know how much better her Desire is than mine!  I'm trying not to sulk - it will only encourage her!


----------



## Callum91 (Sep 30, 2010)

I'm still having problems with my Desire's 3G connection. When I press the 3G activation widget it doesn't always work, then I have to keep toggling flight mode on and off until it decides to behave.


----------



## Gromit (Sep 30, 2010)

BigPhil said:


> Miss BP was upgraded a few days ago to Froyo.  She's taking great pleasure in letting me know how much better her Desire is than mine!  I'm trying not to sulk - it will only encourage her!


 
That's bad form on her behalf. 



BTW since I upgraded my battery lasts 8 days without charging. The phone can now access military satellites, turn lead into gold and shoot laser beams. 

Just saying.


----------



## bmd (Sep 30, 2010)

Gromit said:


> That's bad form on her behalf.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Mine does that too! Have you noticed the doubling of your car's mileage as well?

Exchange by Touchdown is an app I'd recommend to anyone who can't get the bog standard HTC Exchange Server app to sync. I tried and better tried with that stupid thing and it wouldn't have it but this one just works and has a million (at least) different options with it. Unfortunately it's $20. Well, $19.99.


----------



## Callum91 (Oct 1, 2010)

Just got the 2.2 update from Orange! Happy days!


----------



## Dan U (Oct 1, 2010)

my O2 update has turned up i think!

oh hang on i am on 2.14.207.1 now.

that isnt the same is it?


----------



## Dan U (Oct 1, 2010)

ignore that i think it is


----------



## editor (Oct 2, 2010)

Finally, I'm all 2.2'd up!


----------



## editor (Oct 2, 2010)

Oh fuck. It looks like the upgrade has borked my data connectivity.

Anyone got the o2 details to hand?


----------



## Callum91 (Oct 2, 2010)

I quite like the speeh to text function, even if it struggles to recognise my accent


----------



## ohmyliver (Oct 2, 2010)

editor said:


> Oh fuck. It looks like the upgrade has borked my data connectivity.
> 
> Anyone got the o2 details to hand?


 
I had that, you should check settings\wireless and networks\mobile networks\access point names and see if the entry in there is unchecked, as the upgrade for some reason switched that off, and I got data connectivity back by switching it back on.

oh and get sdmove, it's a small app that scans your apps and allows for easier moving to sd card


----------



## editor (Oct 2, 2010)

Fixed! http://mobilereviews.o2.co.uk/devices/device.jsp?deviceId=651&tab=8&step=2&settingId=3201


----------



## Beanburger (Oct 3, 2010)

Anyone tried Chrome to Phone? Pushing numbers from a web page straight into the phone dialler is pretty cool...


----------



## DexterTCN (Oct 3, 2010)

Guys I get 1 gig download a month on my phone, I don't have wifi (it broke ages ago and I never got around to replacing it) is there any way to hook my phone up to the usb on my PS3 to get internet access?


----------



## cliche guevara (Oct 3, 2010)

Doesn't 2.2 come with a tethering app? If not, you can certainly download one, although until next week I'm on a crappy old HTC Magic with 1.6 so wouldn't know what it was called.


----------



## ohmyliver (Oct 4, 2010)

DexterTCN said:


> Guys I get 1 gig download a month on my phone, I don't have wifi (it broke ages ago and I never got around to replacing it) is there any way to hook my phone up to the usb on my PS3 to get internet access?


 
you want to get the phone to get the internet from the ps3's internet connection? I think not possible at the moment. Not without modding both your desire and the ps3. I could well be wrong.  

you could get a new wifi router for about 20-30 quid though.


----------



## fredfelt (Oct 4, 2010)

Gromit said:


> That's bad form on her behalf.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
I'M REALLY HAPPY FOR YOU.  

Nearly as good mine has a mobile copy of the 2011 Good Beer Guide and tells me where the nearest CAMERA nominated pub is - so long as the battery lasts!  Cheers


----------



## editor (Oct 4, 2010)

BigPhil said:


> I'M REALLY HAPPY FOR YOU.
> 
> Nearly as good mine has a mobile copy of the 2011 Good Beer Guide and tells me where the nearest CAMERA nominated pub is - so long as the battery lasts!  Cheers


£4.50 though!


----------



## fredfelt (Oct 4, 2010)

editor said:


> £4.50 though!


 
Much cheaper than the book though.  (I work with the developers so in exchange for beta testing I get it for free)


----------



## editor (Oct 4, 2010)

BigPhil said:


> Much cheaper than the book though.  (I work with the developers so in exchange for beta testing I get it for free)


Sure, but £4.50 is a lorra lorra dosh for an app, and without a trial version, they're going to lose a load of potential customers.


----------



## wtfftw (Oct 4, 2010)

There's still the 24 hour refund thing tho isn't there?


----------



## editor (Oct 4, 2010)

wtfftw said:


> There's still the 24 hour refund thing tho isn't there?


Sure, but £4.50 is deep in 'premium app' territory and from what I can see of it, it doesn't seem to justify that label. But - hey! - it's their call. Make it £2 and I'd give it a go, but heading on for a fiver is too steep for me (and a lot of others I'd imagine).


----------



## wtfftw (Oct 4, 2010)

I've not paid for any apps yet.


----------



## editor (Oct 4, 2010)

wtfftw said:


> I've not paid for any apps yet.


I have. I'm happy to support the developers if they make a good app (and charge a reasonable amount for it!).


----------



## fredfelt (Oct 4, 2010)

editor said:


> Sure, but £4.50 is a lorra lorra dosh for an app, and without a trial version, they're going to lose a load of potential customers.


 
Agreed it is a lorra lorra dosh for an app but they don't own the content of the book so they don't have much choice in the price.  There have been free trials of the app on other platforms and if one comes up for the Android I'll let you know.

Personally I find searching for 'Pub' in Google maps works very well!  But I also like the Good Beer Guides for the spot on reviews.


----------



## cliche guevara (Oct 5, 2010)

HTC Desire HD (and probably Desire Z) delayed until 'end of October'. http://blog.clove.co.uk/2010/10/05/htc-desire-hd-delayed-until-late-october/

Mobile Phones Direct (who I have my order with) quoting 1st November as earliest delivery date.


----------



## editor (Oct 5, 2010)

Vodafone have announced delivery for 14th October 
http://www.wirefresh.com/htc-desire-hd-goes-on-pre-order-in-the-uk-from-free/


----------



## cliche guevara (Oct 5, 2010)

Delivery hey? I was under the impression you could only pre order from the 14th... It wouldn't suprise me if Vodafone announced that then found out about the delay mere hours after. 

Sent from my HTC Magic using Tapatalk


----------



## madamv (Oct 10, 2010)

I got my upgrade today...  I am with Orange.  Cant see much difference, maybe cleaner text?   what should I be looking out for?


----------



## wtfftw (Oct 10, 2010)

um. Screen rotates the other way as well. If you hold home you can choose from 8 instead of 6. I cant remember by now tbh. A flashlight app?


----------



## madamv (Oct 10, 2010)

I still only have 6....  

My FM radio is shit, is there another?


----------



## Callum91 (Oct 10, 2010)

madamv said:


> I got my upgrade today...  I am with Orange.  Cant see much difference, maybe cleaner text?   what should I be looking out for?


 
It's generally quicker, SMS is different, has speech-to-text and IMO better battery life.


----------



## cliche guevara (Oct 10, 2010)

editor said:


> Vodafone have announced delivery for 14th October
> http://www.wirefresh.com/htc-desire-hd-goes-on-pre-order-in-the-uk-from-free/


 
Voafone are now aiming to begin delivery on the 22nd.


----------



## madamv (Oct 10, 2010)

Found a radio app....   Tune In Radio..   Seems I get 40 mins for free.... just off to see how much it is to subscribe as you get music from all over the world.


----------



## Urbanblues (Oct 17, 2010)

Sorry if this query has already been posed.

In the top left hand of my HTC Desire mobile screen a circle (looks like a globe with grid lines) with a 'W' embedded in the top left and an arrow pointing downwards in the bottom right has appeared. Any ideas, please?


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Oct 17, 2010)

Urbanblues said:


> Sorry if this query has already been posed.
> 
> In the top left hand of my HTC Desire mobile screen a circle (looks like a globe with grid lines) with a 'W' embedded in the top left and an arrow pointing downwards in the bottom right has appeared. Any ideas, please?


 
http://www.freehtcdesire.com/htc-desire-tips-and-tricks-volume-4/


----------



## Urbanblues (Oct 17, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> http://www.freehtcdesire.com/htc-desire-tips-and-tricks-volume-4/


 
Hello, tried that but to no avail. Thanks.


----------



## Gromit (Oct 17, 2010)

Anyone else have a problem with the internet browser crashing whenever you view BBC news pages?

I'd uninstall and reinstall a buggy program normally to deal with such a thing but the browser is integrated  as standard into 2.2 so thats not poss.


----------



## madamv (Oct 17, 2010)

Ooh no, not had that and I check that most days...   Could it be your wifi?

Can you uninstall and reinstall?


----------



## editor (Oct 17, 2010)

Gromit said:


> Anyone else have a problem with the internet browser crashing whenever you view BBC news pages?
> 
> I'd uninstall and reinstall a buggy program normally to deal with such a thing but the browser is integrated  as standard into 2.2 so thats not poss.


Try turning Flash off and see if that makes a difference - but I'd start by restarting the phone first.


----------



## Gromit (Oct 17, 2010)

Turning off java script seems to have fixed it. 

So its a java issue then I guess.

My phone has been restarted many many times since I first noticed the problem.


----------



## A Dashing Blade (Nov 3, 2010)

Apols for bumping a slightly old thread but . . . 
Have convinced Mrs Blade to upgrade to a Desire, so, coming towards the end of her current contract,  she's on the phone to T-Mobile yesterday who gave her some gumph about "that model has 'network connection' problems" and that they would recommend she gets either a Blackberry or some Samsung or other. Googling around the T-Mobile forums shows they're prolly talking bollock but thought I'd ask the opinion of the Urban massive . . . ?


----------



## mauvais (Nov 3, 2010)

Nonsense.


----------



## editor (Nov 3, 2010)

That's total bollocks alright.


----------



## A Dashing Blade (Nov 3, 2010)

Many thanks!


----------



## joustmaster (Nov 3, 2010)

Load of arse. Undoubtedly driven by the commission the sales man gets by selling a cheaper phone.


----------



## futha (Nov 4, 2010)

Ever since I updated my software my gps has been awful. Rarely gets signal and very patchy. anyone else having this issue?


----------



## editor (Nov 4, 2010)

futha said:


> Ever since I updated my software my gps has been awful. Rarely gets signal and very patchy. anyone else having this issue?


It's been fine for me. Have you tried rebooting the machine and then trying it in different locations?


----------



## futha (Nov 6, 2010)

i tried restarting, taking the sim and battery out for a bit then walked into town. it picked up a signal for a short while in town but took about 5-10 mins to do so. It's really annoying as I used to use Runkeeper all the time and now it just doesn't work. Maybe the signal will pick up soon. Could be a hardware issue though maybe?


----------



## futha (Nov 8, 2010)

factory reset seems to have made it better. But now I have lost all my shazam tags, oh well win some lose some!


----------



## editor (Nov 18, 2010)

Now this would fucking rock, if true: 



> HTC has hinted that its cloud-based HTCSense.com service may be made available to older handsets in the near future, with the original HTC Desire looking likely to get the functionality.



http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...htcsense-com-coming-to-the-htc-desire--909292


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

OKI, *.avi* is going with *Arc media* and *.flac* with *Meridian*. No need to buy Rock etc.

Can one install a single widget/app, instead of  Bluetooth, WiFi and Hotspot, for quick on/off to connect as and when needed, thus saving on time, traffic and battery life?

Which freeware gadget to get in order to easily and permanently kill the unnecessary stuff going on in the background, eating up the battery alive [until you want them to run, of course...]???

Anyone with problems importing contacts from SIM card to Desire - not only the main [usually mobile] phone but also a second or even a third phone, if you have it in a SIM card, for a contact?


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

Oh, is there an [Win] app to manage HTC Desire, please? Or is it "pushing one to buy" time...???

I have 16GB micro SDHC card and it has some kinda SW but not compatible with Desire, apparently, so no go even for that bit... Doing it blindly, as it were, via Win Explorer...


----------



## quimcunx (Nov 25, 2010)

Just got one of these.  How many text messages does it store?


----------



## wtfftw (Nov 25, 2010)

Lots.


----------



## quimcunx (Nov 25, 2010)

Well I've put my sim from my old phone in with 150 messages and it is only showing about 20 of them and says to delete some when you pull down the top bit to get notifications.


----------



## wtfftw (Nov 25, 2010)

Dunno what that's about. Any option to move them off the sim?
I've got at least 1500 on my phone at the mo'. I delete them every couple of months out of habit.


----------



## quimcunx (Nov 25, 2010)

hmm.   

I'm going to be all complaints and grumpiness for the next couple of weeks, aren't I?

You might want to stop visiting this thread for the duration!


----------



## wtfftw (Nov 25, 2010)

You finding stuff alright? I just copied a message to my sim in solidarity and seems straightforward to move stuff about.


----------



## quimcunx (Nov 25, 2010)

Not had enough chance to explore properly.  Can't move a message I can't see...

  I was just about to ask what solidarity was, thinking some kind of app....  

ehem.


----------



## wtfftw (Nov 25, 2010)

Yeah sorry, I'm in protests on twitter mode - it's all #solidarity over there. 

Can you open the messages app hit menu and then scroll down to an option like manage messages on sim?


----------



## quimcunx (Nov 25, 2010)

That's a little advanced for day one, 02:48 hours.  Let's reconvene tomorrow. 

#solidarity sister.


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

SIM cards have limited memory, I suppose, so a large amount of emails/messages won't be possible to save on it.

Even my contact details weren't all there, just 1 telephone number, not the second or third of each contact...

As I said, killing the unnecessary apps running in the background is a must.

But which app is best for it and which ones must run?


----------



## Redeyes (Nov 25, 2010)

gorski said:


> As I said, killing the unnecessary apps running in the background is a must.



Is it? Where'd you get this info from?


----------



## fogbat (Nov 25, 2010)

Gorski, if you're on Froyo, I believe a task-killer is built into the OS.

Apparently you don't really need it, though.


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

As I said, the battery is going quickly, that's why...

Some apps just don't wanna unload...

I am on Froyo.


----------



## King Biscuit Time (Nov 25, 2010)

HTCsense.com looks bloody ace. Let's have it on the Desire NOW! - I want to be able to send texts from my text while my phone is safely tucked in my bag.


----------



## girasol (Nov 25, 2010)

futha said:


> Ever since I updated my software my gps has been awful. Rarely gets signal and very patchy. anyone else having this issue?


 
YES YES, same issue here!  I nearly got lost on Saturday, it used to be reliable and now it keeps thinking I'm in the wrong place, facing the wrong direction...

HTC Desire, T-Mobile, Android 2.2 build 2.12.110.4, I got an auto-update on Saturday and gps has been erratic ever since.


----------



## quimcunx (Nov 25, 2010)

King Biscuit Time said:


> HTCsense.com looks bloody ace. Let's have it on the Desire NOW! - I want to be able to send texts from my text while my phone is safely tucked in my bag.


 
I assumed my upgrade from a dumphone would be an older version of the Desire but I notice it says ''with HTC sense'' on the back.   Should I be excited?


----------



## futha (Nov 25, 2010)

girasol said:


> YES YES, same issue here!  I nearly got lost on Saturday, it used to be reliable and now it keeps thinking I'm in the wrong place, facing the wrong direction...
> 
> HTC Desire, T-Mobile, Android 2.2 build 2.12.110.4, I got an auto-update on Saturday and gps has been erratic ever since.


 
i think mine was actually broken, i got a replacement phone because of the issues and i think this one is better. Not had chance to test it properly yet though.


----------



## Redeyes (Nov 25, 2010)

quimcunx said:


> I assumed my upgrade from a dumphone would be an older version of the Desire but I notice it says ''with HTC sense'' on the back.   Should I be excited?


 
No, they all have that on the back. HTC Sense is the UI that comes as standard on the Desire. It's access to HTCsense.com website and all its benefits that the standard Desire is yet to gain.


----------



## quimcunx (Nov 25, 2010)

Redeyes said:


> No, they all have that on the back. HTC Sense is the UI that comes as standard on the Desire. It's access to HTCsense.com website and all its benefits that the standard Desire is yet to gain.


 
Oh.   


Good.  I probably don't need or want or will use half of what I have.   I'm mostly finding it confusing and annoying so far.


----------



## fogbat (Nov 25, 2010)

quimcunx said:


> Oh.
> 
> 
> Good.  I probably don't need or want or will use half of what I have.   I'm mostly finding it confusing and annoying so far.


 
Have you installed Angry Birds yet? 

That should be a priority, imo.


----------



## quimcunx (Nov 25, 2010)

fogbat said:


> Have you installed Angry Birds yet?
> 
> That should be a priority, imo.


 
No, fogbat.  No I haven't.  I'm not installing fuck all until I know what I'm looking for.   and tbh they don't sound _that_ essential.


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

http://www.esecurityplanet.com/views/article.php/3901686/Top-20-Android-Security-Apps.htm


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

*Searching for DRM removal/ePub converter for eBooks*, as Kindle for Android is freely available... Anyone with a useful tip?

Then, a raid at Gutenberg and similar projects with free eBooks is in order...

In the meantime, I got Google Talk, Fring [it does Google, MSN, ICQ, including SIP devices, like cheap VoIP Discount or PoIVY saving you money on telephone calls abroad and at home etc. - all working fine, except Yahoo] and Skype for Android. All for chatting!

Also, I got WiFi Analyzer, for more in-depth info on available WiFi nets.

Justin.tv to be able to broadcast, to become a journalist, if necessary... 

File Manager, to scan all your [micro SDHC card?] folders quickly. 

Meridian and Arc Media, plus Astro image viewer for MultiMedia, covering more or less everything one needs in that department, TapaTalk for forum chat [freeware version is passive!] and Lookout Security Suite.

All *freeware *that looked kinda more essential for a fully working Star Trek style hand-held PC... 

Btw, Desire has no VGA camera for Audio-Visual phone calls, has it? Only the one scanning away from you... So, it's not purfekt after all...


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

My wife found an app to kill unnecessary apps going on and on in the background needlessly, draining the battery way too quickly in the process... = *Task Manager*.

I found *Advanced Task Killer* and it does help with "Froyo issues", allegedly... Will report back...


----------



## cliche guevara (Nov 25, 2010)

Gorski - On the last page you were moaning about battery life. By using a task killer you are compounding the problem, not making it better. Task Killers are not advisable on any version of Android above 1.6. Newer builds have an inbuilt task killer, and by using one of the ones listed above you'll actually be putting more strain on system rescources. Android doesn't run like Windows, and when apps are 'running' in the background, unless there's an active process they aren't actually using any system rescources. With Android, having a lot of RAM used is a good thing, it means that when you return to apps they open quickly and to the last state they were in. If you're using task killers, they will need to fully launch again, which will drain the battery. Free memory != increased battery performance.


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

ATK is keeping it less populated and hence less energy consumed! So far so good...

Try it, Clich... I did!!!

When one starts an app they don't all stop when one presses EXIT button twice... And Froyo's built-in task killer is limited. Some apps restart themselves!

So stop bitching about me allegedly moaning, stop talking by heart! Test and come back!

Everybody knows that this stuff is intensive and battery doesn't last too long.

Any help is welcome! And this does help!


----------



## cliche guevara (Nov 25, 2010)

gorski said:


> ATK is keeping it less populated and hence less energy consumed! So far so good...


 
Did you not read my post at all? Less populated potentially means *more* energy consumed. Not less.


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

Read it. Dismissed it, having tested it. You keep it more populated if you wanna. I'm not going to. "More processes less energy consumed." Sure. They don't consume any energy at all. But it just... disappears... It's a mystery...

Besides, seriously speaking, I am not constantly playing with the phone and stopping and starting many apps. Maybe you're generally right and maybe I am specifically right for my needs/usage...


----------



## editor (Nov 25, 2010)

You don't need ATK with Froyo. I uninstalled it when I upgraded.


----------



## cliche guevara (Nov 25, 2010)

gorski said:


> ATK is keeping it less populated and hence less energy consumed! So far so good...
> 
> Try it, Clich... I did!!!
> 
> ...


 
But the point is this _doesn't_ help. Because of the way Android runs, it can't help. If you're a very light user, it might not have much of a negative impact, but it certainly won't have any positive effect. And I have tested it.


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

I tested it now for 3 days. I beg to differ.

I will test more and if it doesn't pan out I'll say so. But for now it seems better with less shite active...

[Btw, what do those useless programmers know, eh? ]


----------



## cliche guevara (Nov 25, 2010)

Yeah, I'm sure they don't know anything. You're probably right. Have you made sure you're running an anti-virus app as well?


----------



## gorski (Nov 25, 2010)

Hehe... Sure, I said so... [Go on, tell me we don't need it because of the way Android runs, 'cause it's new etc. etc. ]

Android guys themselves say "we are making something very complex and sure there will be bugs and security issues"...

And I like to think ahead and do what I can in that respect...

OK, maybe if a hacker is determined one has to be really good not to fall for it but...

Btw, we hear similar stories re. Linux. And we all know that Linux is not very fast to plug the holes. So, not needed, eh? Oh, well...


----------



## Refused as fuck (Nov 25, 2010)

You are a fucking idiot.


----------



## gorski (Nov 26, 2010)

I certainly am not.

You, however, by the sound of it...  Oh, well...


----------



## joustmaster (Nov 26, 2010)

Mr Gorski wins at trolling


----------



## gorski (Nov 26, 2010)

Which item exactly is trolling?


----------



## fogbat (Nov 26, 2010)

Oh jesus. I thought this shit was restricted to the Philosophy forum. Let's leave it there, eh?


----------



## Chz (Nov 26, 2010)

There are apps out there that misbehave and need ATK to get rid of them. But quite frankly they're shit apps and should be uninstalled. I had a bar code scanning one that occasionally popped up and turned on the GPS for no reason and only ATK could stop it, but I got rid of it.


----------



## gorski (Nov 26, 2010)

Good to know, ta! Must tell my wife, as she got it.

But I noticed plenty starting at any time, like Gmail etc.

Then, for some the exit button isn't really stopping them, from A-V apps onwards...

Some are stoppable within Froyo but not all, from what I have seen, ergo ATK!!! Some restart themselves quickly after Froyo stops them, on my command...

And no trolling!!! Except some high-handed treatment from the ppl-in-da-know who just hate it when lay people like myself say anything at all in "their domain" but go out of their way to "speak out of turn" [apparently, that's what I have done here... ] in mine and then I have no say whatsoever.... Jeez!!! [Hypocrisy or what?!?] Get a life!


----------



## gorski (Nov 26, 2010)

Btw, some security SW has the "backup" function, at least for some stuff, like contacts etc. But to their own website, if memory serves...

Any proper management SW for Windows, please?


----------



## mauvais (Nov 26, 2010)

User-driven task killers are of reducing value, but still useful. There are occasions when you know better than Android's garbage collector what should be running. There are some badly designed apps that aren't obviously intrusive but still misuse resources in such a way that a TK can deal with.

However you can get by without them, and a lot of misbehaving apps won't be killable via a TK anyway - for example, anything scheduled using system alarms will restart itself anyway.

You could in theory clog up your phone's memory with service-based apps that won't be collected and won't die. In this case, uninstall is a better route.


----------



## gorski (Nov 26, 2010)

Generally, that was my gut feeling, yes...



mauvais said:


> ...a lot of misbehaving apps won't be killable via a TK anyway - for example, anything scheduled using system alarms will restart itself anyway.


 
All in all, clearer now, thanx!!!


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Nov 28, 2010)

i've just got one of these


----------



## girasol (Nov 28, 2010)

girasol said:


> YES YES, same issue here!  I nearly got lost on Saturday, it used to be reliable and now it keeps thinking I'm in the wrong place, facing the wrong direction...
> 
> HTC Desire, T-Mobile, Android 2.2 build 2.12.110.4, I got an auto-update on Saturday and gps has been erratic ever since.



Used the gps this weekend to find our way to a wedding in the middle of nowhere (somewhere in Croydon ) and it was all good, it took us there and back with no issues, so maybe there was something wrong with satellites when I was out last weekend, after the update.


----------



## gorski (Nov 28, 2010)

My wife has Wildfire - anyone knows if there is an update to Froyo and how, other than OTA [if at all possible]?

From what I read on the net - well, it's a tad confusing ["Yes!" or "Noooo...." or "Just some networks"...]...

I suppose I have to repeat: any proper management SW for Windows to edit and backup etc.?


----------



## futha (Dec 2, 2010)

I got a system upgrade today. Not sure what the changes are.


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 2, 2010)

futha said:


> I got a system upgrade today. Not sure what the changes are.


 
I got one this week. It said something about removing country specific stuff. Nothing exciting


----------



## sumimasen (Dec 2, 2010)

So where's this amazing Swype then? It doesn't seem to be the app market..


----------



## editor (Dec 2, 2010)

sumimasen said:


> So where's this amazing Swype then? It doesn't seem to be the app market..


It's still in closed beta. There are one or two similar apps available though.


----------



## Hocus Eye. (Dec 2, 2010)

Yes I am still waiting for the final version of Swype to come out. I was too late for the beta version which closed a while ago. I tried an apparently similar app for about 20 minutes then deleted it in disgust. If Swype really works then I will break my rule about only using free apps.

E2A I also got the system build upgrade recently. I too can't see any difference but perhaps it just helps the phone to do its job in some internal and obscure way.


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 3, 2010)

editor said:


> It's still in closed beta. There are one or two similar apps available though.


 
SlideIT is what I'm currently using, it's not bad, but not quite as accurate as Swype.


----------



## gorski (Dec 3, 2010)

Just to mention, my wife has Wildfire without Froyo and she hasn't many apps, i.e. reduced functionality [Fring, Flash etc.]...


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 3, 2010)

battery life isn't all that is it?


----------



## gorski (Dec 3, 2010)

I use Advanced Task Killer Free, so it's better. Many apps/tasks start themselves, so everysooften I go to ATKF and just kill it all.

But if you use it for Audio-Visual stuff a lot - no, it will die quickly...


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 3, 2010)

how/where do i get "Advanced Task Killer Free"?


----------



## gorski (Dec 3, 2010)

Search on the Market Place. Via your phone. Download/install in one go. Simple.


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 3, 2010)

You shouldn't need to kill apps blah blah etc (I know you disagree gorski).


----------



## gorski (Dec 3, 2010)

Read other posts here...


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 3, 2010)

I've read the entire thread...


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 3, 2010)

You really don't need to kill apps. It made fuck all difference on my G1, it certainly makes fuck all difference on anything running 2.2.


----------



## gorski (Dec 3, 2010)

BS, as I tested this assumption to be faulty and as others have stated....


----------



## Redeyes (Dec 3, 2010)

gorski said:


> Many apps/tasks start themselves, so everysooften I go to ATKF and just kill it all.



I've never even bothered checking what apps are running on my phone. If it runs out of juice I charge it back up, get roughly a day and a half out of a full charge with moderate use of games and internet. If I know I'm going to cane it by playing games for an extended amount of time I plug the thing in.


----------



## Idaho (Dec 3, 2010)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> battery life isn't all that is it?


 
It gets better after a week of charge/discharge cycles.



cliche guevara said:


> SlideIT is what I'm currently using, it's not bad, but not quite as accurate as Swype.



I use Shapewriter, and get along with it just fine.

Interesting that Swype, Shapewriter and one or two others have all been bought up by one company. Obviously someone thinks that touchscreen computing is going to be big and that they need to buy up the various software related to inputing.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 3, 2010)

gorski said:


> BS, as I tested this assumption to be faulty and as others have stated....


 
You keep saying that apps "start themselves up".

Stuff like GMail needs to run so you can, errr, receive mail. That's kinda the point of a smartphone.


----------



## gorski (Dec 3, 2010)

No it isn't. Or it shouldn't be. It should run when I tell it to, not always.

Especially if many of those are trying to run themselves all the time.

And the BS that they are not using energy is just that - BS!!!


----------



## Refused as fuck (Dec 3, 2010)

Why did you get a smartphone? To annoy everyone on the tech forums?


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 3, 2010)




----------



## gorski (Dec 3, 2010)

You really like to be an annoying arse? Go on, knock yourself out. What does that have to do with me? 

Oh, btw, what kinda a Zweistein does one have to be to understand that apps starting and checking, trying to be "on" all the time - uses energy?!? 

What kinda Dreistein does one have to be to understand that one may want to be in charge of which app goes online and when, under conditions suitable to him/her and not a "techie"/developer "who knows best what's best for everybody"?!? 

And then, they tell philosophers off for requiring that "lay" people think before mouthing off in the Philosophy section... 

Git!


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 3, 2010)

i cant believe we are on the third page of this fucking shit.
shush now.

some apps run in the background and use power, because that's what's meant to happen to make the phone distinguishable from a brick. Other apps, when in the background, do nowt and use no power.


----------



## gorski (Dec 3, 2010)

Shut the fuck up and read above. Not my posts but more knowledgeable people than me!!!

Then answer the Q's or fuck off!!!

Geddit?!?


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 3, 2010)

no


----------



## gorski (Dec 3, 2010)

OK, here it is, so even you, through your shield of superiority complex ridden posture, _may _geddit:

1) Do you want somebody making decisions for you or do you want to be in charge of what's going on and when in your machine?

2) Is an app using energy or isn't it, if it is running or if it keeps starting itself?

3) Do you think you believe what the "experts" tell you a bit too much? [If you do, then you have authority issues in the "Yes Man" department, somebody we call "a cyclists" in Social Psychology - somebody who can't function without hierarchy and keeps schtum when "authority" speaks, without thinking and asking awkward Q's, like I am doing now.]

4) Even in Science things are debatable, so your attitude, for a guy presumably from that background, is bewildering. But I know of such arrogance, so not surprised. It's just that I can't keep silent when that arrogance tries to shush me, with no brain behind the shushing, even though other much more knowledgeable people than me have stated that certain apps are badly written, need stopping manually etc.

That's on top of the fact that I think such a "clever" machine should be cleverer and have the OFF switch, i.e. settings to be adjusted by the end user, not the all-knowing techie programming an app or an OS!!! Now, how "controversial" is that?!?

WTF?!?


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 3, 2010)

Shh


----------



## gorski (Dec 4, 2010)

Thank you, oh Lord, for small mercies... The eejuts have finally realised that when they have nothing to say they should be silent and not try to pose as the Almighty...


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 4, 2010)

SSSHHhhh


----------



## gorski (Dec 4, 2010)

Yeah, keep reminding yourself, else I'll keep embarrassing you...


----------



## editor (Dec 4, 2010)

I downloaded an OS update yesterday. Can't see what has changed apart from a 'related' tab in the Market, but the phone seems a bit nippier all round now.
Curiously, it seems to have placed a duplicate icon on top of every homescreen app, so I just binned the dupes.


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 4, 2010)

gorski said:


> And the BS that they are not using energy is just that - BS!!!


 
Just for clarity, this statement is total crap. Apps do not drain system rescourses when they are 'left running', because they aren't actually 'running'. Android is Linux based, and does not work like Windows. Killing apps uses _more_ system rescources. Gorski's anecdotal evidence is completely irrelevant and innacurate.


----------



## gorski (Dec 4, 2010)

Nope, your attitude, however... 

Interesting how you CHOOSE not to take into account statements by others, obviously much more knowledgeable in the dptm than me... 

Sure, there is just ONE truth in science and technology... 

And just you evade the issues I put forward... 

An app starts itself everysooften and it uses no energy? Sorry, which planet are you from, again?!?

And should it be your or developer's decision, when and how they run?!?

Great show of strength and maturity...


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 4, 2010)

gorski said:


> Nope, your attitude, however...
> 
> Interesting how you CHOOSE not to take into account statements by others, obviously much more knowledgeable in the dptm than me...
> 
> ...



There is one truth in this issue. The way Android works in 2.1 and above means that for most cases killing apps uses more system rescources and battery power. It's not debatable, and it's not a matter of opinion.


----------



## gorski (Dec 4, 2010)

BS!!!

Answer the Q's!!! If they keep checking and/or re-starting themselves... And who's decision should it be...??

And start reading other people's opinions, if you have any balls [maturity] - about misbehaving apps and so forth...


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 4, 2010)

gorski said:


> BS!!!
> 
> Answer the Q's!!! If they keep checking and/or re-starting themselves... And who's decision should it be...??
> 
> And start reading other people's opinions, if you have any balls [maturity] - about misbehaving apps and so forth...



I think you'll find I explained this a couple of pages back when you asked the same question. You disregarded my post, so why should I post it again now?

How exactly does this reflect on my maturity? I'm just trying to clear up the facts so that people don't get misled by the inaccurate information you insist on posting.


----------



## gorski (Dec 4, 2010)

NOT MINE!!!!

Tells one how much you care of other people's posts and views... [Narcissism or what?!? Immature, either way...]


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 4, 2010)

Well I guess trying to clear up information for others that are reading the thread is pretty immature. Sorry!


----------



## gorski (Dec 4, 2010)

Nope, you're just being dogmatic, disregarding any other views... no matter how properly informed, unlike me, who is just observing what is actually happening...


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 4, 2010)

If it was a matter of opinion of course I'd listen to you. This, however, isn't a matter of opinion.


----------



## gorski (Dec 4, 2010)

As I said: dogmatic, hence immature, that is to say scared... hence the invincibility game...

So childish!


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 5, 2010)

Fuck me, you're an idiot


----------



## fogbat (Dec 5, 2010)

gorski said:


> BS, as I tested this assumption to be faulty and as others have stated....


 
Could you describe your test protocol?


----------



## fogbat (Dec 5, 2010)

gorski said:


> As I said: dogmatic, hence immature, that is to say scared... hence the invincibility game...
> 
> So childish!


 
Be honest. You were stamping your foot as you posted that, weren't you?


----------



## editor (Dec 5, 2010)

Can this thread get back on topic now please?


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 5, 2010)

Am I going to have to start shushing again.


----------



## editor (Dec 5, 2010)

Did anyone else get the recent system update, btw?


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 5, 2010)

editor said:


> Did anyone else get the recent system update, btw?


 

I got an update last week. Not sure if its made it perform better. I remember seeing a info screen saying it was removing some German specific stuff or something. I have the related screen in market place too.


----------



## DexterTCN (Dec 5, 2010)

Is z4root any good?  I hate not having control over my own phone.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=833953
http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/z4root-is-one-click-root-app-for-samsung-galaxy-s-android-phones/


----------



## DexterTCN (Dec 5, 2010)

Thought I already posted this.  nm

Does anyone have any experience of z4root or other rooting apps?  I don't like not having control over my own phone.

http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/z4root-is-one-click-root-app-for-samsung-galaxy-s-android-phones/


----------



## DexterTCN (Dec 5, 2010)

Oh come on that post was not there!

Anyway, any advice appreciated.


----------



## Redeyes (Dec 5, 2010)

editor said:


> Did anyone else get the recent system update, btw?



Nope, nothing for me yet. 



Posted via Tapatalk


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 5, 2010)

Redeyes said:


> I've never even bothered checking what apps are running on my phone. If it runs out of juice I charge it back up, get roughly a day and a half out of a full charge with moderate use of games and internet. If I know I'm going to cane it by playing games for an extended amount of time I plug the thing in.


thta's what i mean, a phone you have to charge up every day basically. fucking rubbish imo. tied into a 2 y contract now for a bag of shit that can't do the simple things i would expect i.e. act like a mobile phone and have some other bits. wanky gadget shit tbf.


----------



## gorski (Dec 5, 2010)

To the real idiots on this thread [quite right: fuck you!!!], here are some rather good posts...



Chz said:


> There are apps out there that misbehave and need ATK to get rid of them. But quite frankly they're shit apps and should be uninstalled. I had a bar code scanning one that occasionally popped up and turned on the GPS for no reason and only ATK could stop it, but I got rid of it.


 


mauvais said:


> User-driven task killers are of reducing value, but still useful. There are occasions when you know better than Android's garbage collector what should be running. There are some badly designed apps that aren't obviously intrusive but still misuse resources in such a way that a TK can deal with.
> 
> However you can get by without them, and a lot of misbehaving apps won't be killable via a TK anyway - for example, anything scheduled using system alarms will restart itself anyway.
> 
> You could in theory clog up your phone's memory with service-based apps that won't be collected and won't die. In this case, uninstall is a better route.


 
And then my challenge to the thinking-challenged dogma-driven poor sods...



gorski said:


> OK, here it is, so even you, through your shield of superiority complex ridden posture, _may _geddit:
> 
> 1) Do you want somebody making decisions for you or do you want to be in charge of what's going on and when in your machine?
> 
> ...


 
Go on, keep embarrassing your grand selves... 

Btw, this is exactly on the topics: what can and what should this machine do...

The shitty attitude of the superiority complex driven eejuts is just a side-dish...


----------



## Redeyes (Dec 6, 2010)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> thta's what i mean, a phone you have to charge up every day basically. fucking rubbish imo. tied into a 2 y contract now for a bag of shit that can't do the simple things i would expect i.e. act like a mobile phone and have some other bits. wanky gadget shit tbf.


 
I really don't mind sticking it on charge when I'm at my desk or sat watching TV at home. I'm very rarely in a position where I can't access electricty if I need to charge it up so I'm very happy indeed with the phone so far. If I were a mountaineer or summat where I was regularly away from a plug socket I'd probably have picked a different phone.


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 6, 2010)

gorski said:


> To the real idiots on this thread [quite right: fuck you!!!], here are some rather good posts...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


be careful with that drum, if you keep banging it, it will break.

This thread doesn't need the last three pages to be riddled with this.


----------



## ovaltina (Dec 6, 2010)

DexterTCN said:


> Thought I already posted this.  nm
> 
> Does anyone have any experience of z4root or other rooting apps?  I don't like not having control over my own phone.
> 
> http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/z4root-is-one-click-root-app-for-samsung-galaxy-s-android-phones/


 
I've rooted two phones (neither of them an  HTC Desire!) using tools found after a bit of googling, and both times it went fine. The Modaco forums have info about rooting most Android phones.


----------



## editor (Dec 6, 2010)

Redeyes said:


> I really don't mind sticking it on charge when I'm at my desk or sat watching TV at home. I'm very rarely in a position where I can't access electricty if I need to charge it up so I'm very happy indeed with the phone so far. If I were a mountaineer or summat where I was regularly away from a plug socket I'd probably have picked a different phone.


The ability to just pop in another battery is a real life saver.


----------



## gorski (Dec 7, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> be careful with that drum, if you keep banging it, it will break.
> 
> This thread doesn't need the last three pages to be riddled with this.


 
1) You mean, you have nothing to support your claims but you still wanna keep embarrassing yourself by talking nonsense...

2) So, why do you keep insisting on writing BS, stuff with nothing to back it up?!?

Stated aims/goals as to how Android 2.2 and apps OUGHT to work is one thing...

Geddit now? Nah, forget it...


----------



## editor (Dec 7, 2010)

FFS: can you give it a rest please?


----------



## Idaho (Dec 7, 2010)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> thta's what i mean, a phone you have to charge up every day basically. fucking rubbish imo. tied into a 2 y contract now for a bag of shit that can't do the simple things i would expect i.e. act like a mobile phone and have some other bits. wanky gadget shit tbf.


 
It really bothered me to begin with, but I must say that I am now pretty much used to charging it every day or two. I went camping with it, and with careful use and switching it off at night when not needed, it went for four days. And then I had one of those portable charge batteries so could charge it twice more. I got over a week's use of phone and internet without needing the mains.


----------



## editor (Dec 7, 2010)

Pack one of these guys and you'll get up to four full charges:







http://www.wirefresh.com/veho-pebble-5000mah-portable-battery-pack-charger-review/


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 7, 2010)

The price of a big nice screen, init.
I some times think back to the days of those tiny black and white, three lines of text Nokia phones that had batteries that would last all week, however much snake you played.


----------



## fredfelt (Dec 7, 2010)

editor said:


> Pack one of these guys and you'll get up to four full charges:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Oh, that looks like a good product.  I got given a solar charger but it does not really deliver enough charge to be useful so this will be useful for using the GPS while on my bike.


----------



## ohmyliver (Dec 7, 2010)

editor said:


> Did anyone else get the recent system update, btw?


 
I've not had a system update for ages, but I'm on an unbranded Desire.   I've just realised that "Unbranded Desire" sounds like an awful Silivie Kirinesque romance novel set in a marketing department


----------



## mrkikiet (Dec 7, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> The price of a big nice screen, init.
> I some times think back to the days of those tiny black and white, three lines of text Nokia phones that had batteries that would last all week, however much snake you played.


 
i have my first touchscreen phone and i just assumed that was the reason for the poor battery life, every touch of the screen eats more battery where as your blackberry type non touchscreen preserve a lot of battery life that way, rather than apps running in the background.


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 7, 2010)

mrkikiet said:


> i have my first touchscreen phone and i just assumed that was the reason for the poor battery life, every touch of the screen eats more battery where as your blackberry type non touchscreen preserve a lot of battery life that way, rather than apps running in the background.


 
for god sake man, don't mention apps runnin in the background...


----------



## gawkrodger (Dec 7, 2010)

I'll be getting a Desire shortly - anyone got any recommendations for a case?

All the good ones seem to be for iphones. erally like this one

http://www.oki-ni.com/mens-wallets/...-newbery-leather-iphone-case/invt/wle0501cog/


----------



## editor (Dec 7, 2010)

I cant be arsed with cases, but there's some here:
http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/cat/Desire-Cases.htm


----------



## fredfelt (Dec 7, 2010)

editor said:


> I cant be arsed with cases, but there's some here:
> http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/cat/Desire-Cases.htm


 
Or go to ebay and get much the same you linked to for £3


----------



## ohmyliver (Dec 7, 2010)

BigPhil said:


> Or go to ebay and get much the same you linked to for £3



or if you can't be arsed ebaying, then go down to your local independent phone shop, I got one for 5 quid (if I remember rightly, it could have been 3 quid though). It's the same as this http://www.expansys.com/expansys-ha...=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=base (also a fiver).  

I've dropped my phone once, and it's been excitedly been played with a range of nieces and nephews (youngest being 3) and survived.  It might well have survived without the hardgel case though.


----------



## Redeyes (Dec 7, 2010)

gawkrodger said:


> I'll be getting a Desire shortly - anyone got any recommendations for a case?


 
I've had a casemate tough for a while now and it's great. Doesn't add that much bulk to the phone and gives good protection.


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 7, 2010)

Idaho said:


> It really bothered me to begin with, but I must say that I am now pretty much used to charging it every day or two. I went camping with it, and with careful use and switching it off at night when not needed, it went for four days. And then I had one of those portable charge batteries so could charge it twice more. I got over a week's use of phone and internet without needing the mains.


I was a bit pissed and quite pissed off when i posted that, although I do wish I'd been a bit less overcome with "oooo, shiny new thing" and thought a bit more about what i want from a phone i.e. to be able to phone people reliably and not worry about charging and so on.


----------



## editor (Dec 7, 2010)

I've dropped my HTC a fair few times and - so far - it's survived without a scratch.


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 7, 2010)

I've got an update. 2.29.405.2  now (unbranded).


----------



## mauvais (Dec 7, 2010)

The update doesn't do very much - updated Flash, updated Facebook (if you haven't done these yourself already), slightly updated Market and a new radio image (the underlying telephony system).

As for battery life, most of the drain comes from sync & background data - rather than just the presence of processes running but doing not a lot. Anything that has the 'wake lock' permission is also going to have an effect. Turn sync & background data off and see what happens - should get a few days' use, but of course no email etc.

I've got a couple of ZTE Blades (Orange San Francisco) with nothing installed on them, and they look like they give about four days' worth, maybe more.


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 7, 2010)

mauvais said:


> I've got a couple of ZTE Blades (Orange San Francisco) with nothing installed on them, and they look like they give about four days' worth, maybe more.


 I should be so lucky, mine gets about 14 hours, that's with pretty heavy usage though.


----------



## gorski (Dec 7, 2010)

Battery life is just a symptom!!! And I am right in saying it's wrong in at least some aspects!

Mauvais, you come across as a non-dogmatic, critically minded person, not believing everything you read from the corporate types [developers or marketing guys], so please have a look at this and help, if you can...



mauvais said:


> The update doesn't do very much - updated Flash, updated Facebook (if you haven't done these yourself already), slightly updated Market and a new radio image (the underlying telephony system).



My wife can't get Fring, for instance, on her Market, with Andro 2.1. Any ideas, please? [I think getting ATK was also an issue...] Sharing Fring with her didn't work either.



mauvais said:


> As for battery life, most of the drain comes from sync & background data - rather than just the presence of processes running but doing not a lot. Anything that has the 'wake lock' permission is also going to have an effect. Turn sync & background data off and see what happens - should get a few days' use, but of course no email etc.



Here is what happened to me today: I am in Brazil and suddenly I see some message about data and roaming being on, so I check it out and see "Enable always-on mobile data"... Grrr, was that a nasty surprise or what! Why? Well, my general sync settings are all to OFF [not ticked] and Data roaming [in Mobile network settings] is set to OFF... JEEZ!!!!

Some apps are constantly trying to get themselves up and running and checking, even though I specifically unticked all the options to connect to anything, until I try to do that... Even with the airplane mode on!!!!! The window one gets when trying to get Background data to OFF is saying that some apps will nevertheless, even if you selected not to do this, still try to go online... I mean, I feel like suing someone, if I incur some silly charge for data roaming and suchlike!!!

Seriously, this is daylight robbery and not doing stuff as "it says on the can". I.e. my choice is NOT respected. And that is a NO-NO in my book! Obviously, some here are OK to be arses but I for sure am not one, so... Smart-phone it isn't!!! or maybe it is but in whose interest?!? I can see how it all works in their {Google/corporate/marketing [and worse!!!!]} favour but not in ours! Many apps can't even be uninstalled!

News, for example, is on manual and yet it's always trying to get online. FFS!!! I say NO and a developer says GO! Stocks is set to every hour and I can't change it. I mean, honestly... Even though Background data is not ticked, i.e. it's OFF, so WTF?!? Not my idea of a "clever" machine! Do you know of a way of making it cleverer? As in doing as ordered by me, the owner, not by Google?!?

To my mind, this seems to be the worst kind of daylight robbery BS, where Google is robbing everybody and it seems that most users are complicit in all this... I couldn't have known this at the time of ordering! And I doubt anyone could have known it is that bad!!!  But to perpetuate this as if it is "normal" and as if it "can't be better/different" - is ridiculous!!!

Linux based system, Google technically - maybe - is... but nowt to do with Linux spirit, if you ask me...

Any chance of getting a proper Linux based OS for these babies? Anyone?


----------



## editor (Dec 7, 2010)

I turned off Data Roaming when I went to the States, and just connected via Wi-Fi with no probs. I sent and picked up my text messages overseas and only paid an extra £1.80 after two weeks.

Turn off data sync and I can't see why you'd get your knickers in a twist.


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 8, 2010)

bought wrong lead to work, so have dead phone and can't connect it to pc. last charged on sunday. this really is pathetic actually. when i look at what is draining the battery, the main thing seems to be "call waiting" - it's a fucking phone, that's what it's supposed to fucking do!!!!


----------



## mauvais (Dec 8, 2010)

Data roaming being off should override background data and syncing (under Accounts & Sync). I don't know quite what 'always on mobile' (under Mobile Network Settings) does but I expect it's to do with holding onto connections for longer rather than dropping & reestablishing them. It should have no effect when data is off because of roaming.

I've never been roaming with it, so I don't know, but I expect you could solve any issues by simply disabling mobile data (via the HTC widget, or by manually mangling the APN name).

As for Fring, it's probably limited to certain handsets, regions or versions of Android. You can do all of those things when publishing apps to the Market. Technically, if it's a free app, you could use something like ASTRO to back it up and give her the APK that that produces. Whether that'd work, I don't know, but they're mostly unavailable for a reason - for example Angry Birds doesn't appear for the Hero (I think), because it's so slow and broken.


----------



## mauvais (Dec 8, 2010)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> bought wrong lead to work, so have dead phone and can't connect it to pc. last charged on sunday. this really is pathetic actually. when i look at what is draining the battery, the main thing seems to be "call waiting" - it's a fucking phone, that's what it's supposed to fucking do!!!!


The built-in battery history is rubbish, ignore it. Lasting from Sunday isn't bad for a smartphone.


----------



## mauvais (Dec 8, 2010)

Oh, and a bit more information on those Blades. I wrote an Android app that - amongst lots of things - monitors battery drain over time and builds an average usage pattern. The two I have say they drain about 0.5% and 1.3% an hour, giving them 3 days and 8.5 days lifetime respectively. That's based on a few days of usage so may change, but it ain't bad.

My Desire - my actual phone that I use for everything - says 3.8% an hour, giving it a touch over a day's life.

In my limited experience so far, the difference is simply the amount of stuff using data - I'll put my app on a clean Desire but I strongly suspect it'll end up similar to the Blade. There's no way around it - it's like driving around on the redline all day and then complaining about economy.


----------



## mack (Dec 8, 2010)

@Gorski - Never had any issues when using my Legend in Turkey (O2 charge £6 per m/b so I had to make sure all data was switched off), maybe Android is not the platform for you.


----------



## editor (Dec 8, 2010)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> bought wrong lead to work, so have dead phone and can't connect it to pc. last charged on sunday. this really is pathetic actually. when i look at what is draining the battery, the main thing seems to be "call waiting" - it's a fucking phone, that's what it's supposed to fucking do!!!!


Why not a buy a couple of spare batteries and lob the in your bag for such occasions? Even the official ones are cheap - or alternatively buy a cheapo USB charger and keep it in work.


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 8, 2010)

editor said:


> Why not a buy a couple of spare batteries and lob the in your bag for such occasions? Even the official ones are cheap - or alternatively buy a cheapo USB charger and keep it in work.


just spent a tenner on a spare lead to keep at work. grr!!


----------



## mack (Dec 8, 2010)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> just spent a tenner on a spare lead to keep at work. grr!!


 
I keep one lead at work and one in my bag.


----------



## Chz (Dec 8, 2010)

I'm amazed by some of those numbers. If I sparsely use the phone (pretty much reading what's synced), but let it keep syncing data it will hold up for two days easily. Sure in heavy use it only lasts the day, but anyone with a smartphone normally has the sense to plug it in when they go to bed. 

(on a Desire)


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 8, 2010)

two and a half hours charging, 48%  the guy in the shop said to me that advice to charge overnight wasn't needed anymore with these phones......


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 8, 2010)

I plug it in when I get in bed and by the time I've stopped pissing about on the internet it's already charged. Probably about 3 hours but using it at the same time - not from seriously empty tho. Just get in the habit of topping it up when convenient for you.


----------



## sumimasen (Dec 8, 2010)

1) I have a gel case which came with a screen protector, off Amazon for under 4 quid and I'm very impressed with it. 

2) I have a work Blackberry and I use the Blackberry usb cable to keep my Desire charged at my desk. IT geek reckons that all cables are generic so it's safe to do so. He wasn't sure however that the same would apply to the actual Blackberry charger - something about possible different amp or wattage, he'd want to investigate further before recommending this.

3) Has anyway got their hotmail.co.uk working using the recent ActiveSync feature. Doing a search in Google yields irrelevant advice for the Desire.


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 8, 2010)

gorski said:


> Battery life is just a symptom!!! And I am right in saying it's wrong in at least some aspects!
> 
> Mauvais, you come across as a non-dogmatic, critically minded person, not believing everything you read from the corporate types [developers or marketing guys], so please have a look at this and help, if you can...
> 
> ...


 Sounds like you used the wrong settings and are desperately trying to blame someone else. Like Editor, I turn mobile data off when I go abroad and have never had an issue.


----------



## Idaho (Dec 8, 2010)

editor said:


> Pack one of these guys and you'll get up to four full charges:



Yeah that's the one I have. I charged my phone twice and my dmp once from it off a single charge.



Paulie Tandoori said:


> I was a bit pissed and quite pissed off when i posted that, although I do wish I'd been a bit less overcome with "oooo, shiny new thing" and thought a bit more about what i want from a phone i.e. to be able to phone people reliably and not worry about charging and so on.


 
My old phone was a Nokia 6330 - I used to charge it less than once a week! I am used to the Desire now. Like others, I keep a lead in my bag for emergencies.


----------



## mauvais (Dec 8, 2010)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> two and a half hours charging, 48%  the guy in the shop said to me that advice to charge overnight wasn't needed anymore with these phones......


Are you charging from a PC's USB slot? They don't provide enough current (0.5A max). If not, check your power adapter - it should say 1A or more, not e.g. 0.7A, which will obviously slow it down.


----------



## Idaho (Dec 8, 2010)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> two and a half hours charging, 48%  the guy in the shop said to me that advice to charge overnight wasn't needed anymore with these phones......


 
That doesn't sound right. Mine recharges from nearly empty in a couple of hours.


----------



## editor (Dec 8, 2010)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> two and a half hours charging, 48%  the guy in the shop said to me that advice to charge overnight wasn't needed anymore with these phones......


Get a mains USB charger - they're about a fiver - and it'll take a fraction of that time. If I try and charge off one of my PCs USB ports it takes an eternity too. That's not the fault of the phone, it's just how some PCs are set up.


----------



## mack (Dec 8, 2010)

Charging via USB takes about 4-5 hours, with a normal power connection it takes about 90 minutes probably less I think.


----------



## fredfelt (Dec 8, 2010)

editor said:


> Get a mains USB charger - they're about a fiver - and it'll take a fraction of that time. If I try and charge off one of my PCs USB ports it takes an eternity too. That's not the fault of the phone, it's just how some PCs are set up.


 
I've found the phone charges quicker when I plug it in near to the mains inlet USB than on the other side of the computer.  Apparently this is quite common because 'by the time the power gets to the other side of the computer the power is a bit less'.

The USB charger which I keep at work was around £1 new of ebay.


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 8, 2010)

editor said:


> Get a mains USB charger - they're about a fiver - and it'll take a fraction of that time. If I try and charge off one of my PCs USB ports it takes an eternity too. That's not the fault of the phone, it's just how some PCs are set up.


Sorry if I'm being thick but you mean a phone cable to normal 3-pin plug charger? If yes, I already have one at home, with some peculiar 3-piece arrangement to fit cable to plug.


----------



## porno thieving gypsy (Dec 8, 2010)

Redeyes said:


> I've had a casemate tough for a while now and it's great. Doesn't add that much bulk to the phone and gives good protection.



Another vote for Case Mate - its really very good.


----------



## gorski (Dec 8, 2010)

cliche guevara said:


> Sounds like you used the wrong settings and are desperately trying to blame someone else. Like Editor, I turn mobile data off when I go abroad and have never had an issue.


 
As I said, I turned OFF all of those and still...


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 8, 2010)

menu > settings > wireless and networks > untick mobile network
if you do that, it is impossible to go on the internet (without using wifi..)


----------



## gorski (Dec 8, 2010)

Let me reiterate:

...even though I specifically unticked all the options to connect to anything, until I try to do that...* Even with the airplane mode on!!!!!* *The window one gets when trying to get Background data to OFF is saying that some apps will nevertheless, even if you selected not to do this, still try to go online... *

*News*, for example, is on *manual *and *yet it's always trying to get online*. FFS!!! I say NO and a developer says GO! Stocks is set to every hour and I *can't change it*. I mean, honestly...* Even though Background data is not ticked, i.e. it's OFF*, so WTF?!? Not my idea of a "clever" machine! Do you know of a way of making it cleverer? As in doing as ordered by me, the owner, not by Google?!?

==============*************************##################

To my mind, this seems to be the worst kind of daylight robbery BS, where Google is robbing everybody and it seems that most users are complicit in all this... I couldn't have known this at the time of ordering! And I doubt anyone could have known it is that bad!!!  But to perpetuate this as if it is "normal" and as if it "can't be better/different" - is ridiculous!!!

*In other words, are we doing anything about it?!? Are we protesting? 

On the other hand, is the Linux community writing a free OS without any shit in it, does anyone know?!?*


----------



## Redeyes (Dec 8, 2010)

gorski said:


> *Are we protesting?*



It doesn't bother me enough to even give it any thought during an average day. How much time do you spend checking your phone and getting wound up by this?


----------



## editor (Dec 8, 2010)

gorski said:


> Let me reiterate:
> 
> ...even though I specifically unticked all the options to connect to anything, until I try to do that...* Even with the airplane mode on!!!!!* *The window one gets when trying to get Background data to OFF is saying that some apps will nevertheless, even if you selected not to do this, still try to go online... *
> 
> ...


If you go into your settings, you can turn off the stocks app altogether and control the frequency of any other app that wants to update itself. 

Turning the sync option to 'off' on the power bar widget stops the phone trying to sync anything (unless you open the app). That's what I did when I was in NYC and it worked a treat.


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 8, 2010)

I'm off for a pint. This guys a nutter.


----------



## gorski (Dec 8, 2010)

Redeyes said:


> It doesn't bother me enough to even give it any thought during an average day. How much time do you spend checking your phone and getting wound up by this?


 
I rest my case...


----------



## gorski (Dec 8, 2010)

editor said:


> If you go into your settings, you can turn off the stocks app altogether and control the frequency of any other app that wants to update itself.
> 
> Turning the sync option to 'off' on the power bar widget stops the phone trying to sync anything (unless you open the app). That's what I did when I was in NYC and it worked a treat.



Thanx. However, I tried it all, as I said - those apps are still trying to get themselves active and checking...

Btw, Joustmaster is a real brainless and spineless gem... [He deserves the Cons, if he is in the UK]


----------



## editor (Dec 8, 2010)

gorski said:


> I rest my case...


I think most people are of the opinion that you're blaming your own deficiencies on the phone because no one else seems to be suffering the same problems as you. Either that, or you have a strange fault, and should take the phone back for repair.


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 8, 2010)

gorski said:


> Btw, Joustmaster is a real brainless and spineless gem... [He deserves the Cons, if he is in the UK]


Lucky guess.


----------



## Hocus Eye. (Dec 8, 2010)

There might be an answer to some of the problems of battery usage by using the _green power app_ that is reviewed on the site below:-

http://computersight.com/computers/htc-desire-green-power-app-review/

I have downloaded and enabled it but it is too new to judge whether it works or is relevant to my needs.


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 8, 2010)

editor said:


> I think most people are of the opinion that you're blaming your own deficiencies on the phone because no one else seems to be suffering the same problems as you. Either that, or you have a strange fault, and should take the phone back for repair.


 
I frequent a couple of different Android forums, and can't recall having ever seen this fault. Occam's Razor says user error. If he'd opted for the simple solution pointed out by joustmaster above I doubt there would be any problem.


----------



## mauvais (Dec 8, 2010)

The warning that Gorski is on about is in regard _specifically _ to background data. Background data is a setting that *indicates but does not enforce* that applications should not use data when they are not in the foreground. The API says: '_getBackgroundDataSetting() ... Developers should respect this setting, and check the value of this before performing any background data operations_'.

If you turn it off, and you can see for yourself, you get a warning saying that says, rightly, applications may ignore this.

However those applications *cannot* use data when you have turned off data, turned off roaming, put it in airplane mode or any combination of those. It is specifically a health warning about background data, of relevance only when data is enabled.

Clear?


----------



## editor (Dec 8, 2010)

Hocus Eye. said:


> There might be an answer to some of the problems of battery usage by using the _green power app_ that is reviewed on the site below:-
> 
> http://computersight.com/computers/htc-desire-green-power-app-review/
> 
> I have downloaded and enabled it but it is too new to judge whether it works or is relevant to my needs.


That site has the biggest, most annoying 'slide up' advert I've seen in a long while.

Seeing as that app is only 63p, I might give it a go anyway.


----------



## gorski (Dec 8, 2010)

Thanx, mauvais, first and foremost! Competence and confidence, not to mention good will to help and share, is what I value! That's manly - unlike some other "contributors", i.e. pussies in this thread, throwing abuse and no rationale whatsoever...

A question: how does one uninstall or stop or setup News or Stockmarket or any such shit from EVER starting or checking anything at all [and using my bandwidth and battery], while I am freely making or receiving calls or performing any other activity I choose to do with my phone [and not having to worry that those unwated apps will butt in]?!? Can I do that or not with Google's Android and specifically with the apps that come with Froyo?



editor said:


> I think most people are of the opinion that you're blaming your own deficiencies on the phone because no one else seems to be suffering the same problems as you.



You know I don't have issues with self-esteem, so what most people think is of little consequence to me...

What matters to me, of course, is competence/good, well grounded argument that I can test...

I have put up a few questions/problems and I appreciate concrete answers/further questions!

I do not value generalised abuse, without any argument put forward - that is for imbeciles!

And sadly, there are a few of those, big time sissies, here...



editor said:


> Either that, or you have a strange fault, and should take the phone back for repair.


 
I will test more, read and learn and if that is the case - of course...


----------



## gorski (Dec 8, 2010)

editor said:


> If you go into your settings, you can turn off the stocks app altogether and control the frequency of any other app that wants to update itself.



OK, don't go nuts now but I have to tell you this because you and the others deserve it - because you haven't read what I have stated quite clearly and this is how this groundless summary judgement by proxy is going on and on and on...

Have you actually read what I have written?!? If you had and tried/tested what I wrote - you wouldn't have written this nonsense!

No, you can NOT!!! You try it!!! News, Stocks, Weather, blah-blah... Go to Manage apps and just you try it!

Either I am talking by heart - in which case Occam wins and I apologise!!!

Or you [and so are loadsa other sheep repeating these groundless charges] owe me an aplolgy!!! [Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen, like you guys are ever gonna grow some balls and spine to do that... ]



editor said:


> Turning the sync option to 'off' on the power bar widget stops the phone trying to sync anything (unless you open the app). That's what I did when I was in NYC and it worked a treat.


 
As I said, I went through ALL the settings and switched OFF ALL such settings...

Honestly, I have no idea how it all happened but even in the airplane mode apps were starting themselves and trying to get through and so on...

Mauvais, if I understood it correctly, explained it - but I don't think the OS should be this mindless, as in disregarding the owner's wishes and doing things one wishes not to be active - EVER!

How "stupid" is that idea?!? Just how much am I asking?!?


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 8, 2010)

I found.a couple of good real ale pub round the back streets of borough tonight...


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 8, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> I found.a couple of good real ale pub round the back streets of borough tonight...


Nice.


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 9, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> I found.a couple of good real ale pub round the back streets of borough tonight...


did that help your battery?


----------



## mack (Dec 9, 2010)

gorski said:


> No, you can NOT!!! You try it!!! News, Stocks, Weather, blah-blah... Go to Manage apps and just you try it!



Assuming you are talking about the apps that come with android and not ones you have downloaded...

news/weather app..launch,menu,settings,refresh settings,auto refresh - untick the box..

stocks app..launch,menu,settings,update when opened..untick box + auto - sync data..untick box

If you still have some major issues you should probably go to the xda forums http://forum.xda-developers.com/ and post about it there, they have more technical people who might be able to help.


----------



## gorski (Dec 9, 2010)

Thanx Mack!!!

You mean: 

1) news/weather app --> launch it from ALL APPS?

2) Then go to --> menu --> settings --> refresh settings --> auto refresh --> untick the box..

The problem was that I couldn't - as "background data" was OFF...

It warned me to set it to ON... So, I did and then did as you described.

But Froyo didn't immediately respond to the command, i.e. it behaved as if I didn't give the permission. So, I had to redo it.

Which makes me think if Froyo [at least in my case] doesn't always immediately get to the new mode of operation, having changed the settings [that might explain a few failures I had...]. I did have to do it twice before the new settings actually took... Only then could I do as you described.

I will observe how it all behave now and report back...

And that brings me back to my Q: can you uninstall those apps that come with Froyo? It seems impossible and therefore wrong!

Cheers!


----------



## gorski (Dec 9, 2010)

Holly cow! I am about to go to bed and I wanted to check the phone...

Guess what was active? News and Weather... FFS!!!

Everything is set to OFF, as advised and...

I don't know...


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 9, 2010)

hit it with a hammer mate, it's the only cure clearly.


----------



## mack (Dec 9, 2010)

@ Gorski

Ok you still have a few things you could try..not sure why that didn't work

You might have installed a dodgy app - possibly the ATK - I'm not familiar with them - so try getting rid of that first and see what happens, also any other apps that you might have downloaded from non-market sources - get rid of those and see what happens.

Failing that, back up all your content, contacts etc and do a hard reset of the phone back to it's factory state and start again. You won't lose any updates.

Also I believe you can remove stock apps from the phone but you would need to be rooted to be able to do this, I think it's not too difficult to do this with the desire - certainly easier than it is with the Legend.

If you still have problems it might be worth hitting it with a hammer 

Hth.


----------



## mauvais (Dec 9, 2010)

There's nothing wrong with it, just a misunderstanding about what the settings do and how they work together.

As for the apps, you can't remove everything. You can remove more by applying a custom ROM. Really though there's no point - you can turn most data use off within applications, e.g. Stocks sync can be turned off via 'Accounts & Sync', News & Weather through its own settings, etc etc.

Applications trying to use data does not always mean actual data use. I don't know why they didn't enforce background data properly, rather than leaving it to app developers - it would have been easy, but perhaps there are reasons.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 9, 2010)

Gorski - why did you buy a smartphone?  You clearly don't want any of the features it provides.


----------



## gorski (Dec 9, 2010)

Thanx, guys! Appreciated!!! Haammer included! 

I did as described and this morning News and Weather are active nevertheless. Incredible!

But then I went into All Apps and realised I not only have "News", plus "Weather" apps but also "News and Weather" app... For crying out loud... What for?!?

OK, must enable Background data, to untick it all in "N&W" app, as well and then see... I will report back.

While in "Running apps" I found shitloads of stuff running needlessly... 

Btw, I don't do non-Market apps [unknown sources].

Here is what I downloaded [from Manage Apps]:

Flash 10.1
ATK
arcMedia
ASTRO
File Manager (Auto-Scan)
Fring
Gmail
Justin.v
Kindle
Live TV
Lookout
Market [???weird!!!]
Meridian
Skype
Stream Media Player
tapatalk
TV Ultimate
Wifi Analyzer

Lookout security suite and ATK are active by default.

Only Fring and Gmail of those activate themselves sometimes... Must check those settings...

It's mainly the stuff that comes with Froyo, as default apps, that are this incredibly unmanageable and aggressive, regardless of what I tell it to do [or not]... And as I have said, there are needless double-ups of the same apps - and for what?

Any news of improvements in 2.3 and when it will come, for everything other than Samsung?

Cheers!


----------



## gorski (Dec 9, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Gorski - why did you buy a smartphone?  You clearly don't want any of the features it provides.


 
Get your brain in gear!!! And if you can't talk in a respectful manner, like you behaved before in this thread - PISS OFF!!! You are not needed and deffo not wanted by anyone interested in figuring how things really work, not what the Corp. wants you to believe...

I said CLEARLY: when I want it - not when Google or other comp. apps want to... 

I said CLEARLY: what I want, not... see above...

If I am in Brazil and I don't want any additional roaming data etc. charges...

Oh, never mind...


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 9, 2010)

Yeah. Nevermind.


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 9, 2010)

Laugh out loud.


----------



## gorski (Dec 9, 2010)

Now, I will activate Wi-Fi and see what comes up to "play"...

Here we go:

Gmail
Market
Messages

apart from 

ATK and
Lookout

which I want ON at all times.... for now, at least...


----------



## gorski (Dec 9, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> Laugh out loud.


 
Cringe at one's idiocy and immaturity...


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 9, 2010)

Your phone is doing what is was designed to do. This is nothing to do with your rather paranoid issues of corporate wrongdoing, but more to your phone trying to be, you know, useful.

Gmail/GCal and all the other Google stuff is an integrated part of Android. The tiny, hard to spot clue to all this is that it was made by Google.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 9, 2010)

gorski said:


> If I am in Brazil and I don't want any additional roaming data etc. charges...


 
Menu -> Settings -> Wireless and networks -> Mobile Networks -> Untick "Data Roaming"


That's it. That is all you have to do.

As for you claiming that it is downloading data when you've put it into flight mode, there are only two options. One is that you haven't put it into flight mode, the other is that it isn't actually downloading any data due to all it's communications ability having been switched off.


----------



## gorski (Dec 9, 2010)

I'll give you a general clue: it's already been said but also questioned [a specific episode with Data roaming being ON even though I haven't allowed it!!!], as not perfect - for those of us with brain and spine. Too late, too little [brain and spine]. Now, buzz off!!!


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 9, 2010)

Bang bang bang bang bang shh


----------



## ovaltina (Dec 9, 2010)

I reckon you'd be better off with one of these:


----------



## gorski (Dec 9, 2010)

Find kids your age to play with... This is way over your heads, children...


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 9, 2010)

What would you like me to get you for Christmas?


----------



## sumimasen (Dec 9, 2010)

Amidst all these fun and frolics, I managed to answer my own question from a couple of pages back. I had asked if anyone knew how to enable ActiveSync for a hotmail account. It appears that the stock email app doesn't work, but there is an app called Improved Email. Works like a charm. 

A great app for those who don't use gmail or want to check their work email for example.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Dec 9, 2010)

i wonder how many will put gorski on ignore after this?


----------



## sumimasen (Dec 9, 2010)

Does anyone know if you can printscreen, a la iPhone?


----------



## gorski (Dec 9, 2010)

[

Brrrr, I am shaking like a leaf, at the very thought that the likes of Faustmaster would ignore me...  After all, we are all gathered here to please the "helpful" and "rather unselfish" sorry sods of his kind... ]

Anyone experiencing delayed image/sound when watching avi files? I use arcMedia for those.


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 9, 2010)

I like the name faustmaster.
I would sell my soul for it.


----------



## ohmyliver (Dec 10, 2010)

um, the new update for gmail has broken my gmail (in that the icon on the apps menu no longer works, and I have to go to the market/downloads to be able to run it).... this is on an unbranded desire ...

anyone else had this? I can't work out how to fix it (having tried uninstalling, and re-installing, and turning it off and on again) without doing a factory reset, anyone got any ideas?


----------



## mauvais (Dec 10, 2010)

sumimasen said:


> Does anyone know if you can printscreen, a la iPhone?


I may be wrong, but I don't think there are any apps to do it on a Desire, for security reasons. You can do it, but you have to use development tools on a PC.


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 10, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> um, the new update for gmail has broken my gmail (in that the icon on the apps menu no longer works, and I have to go to the market/downloads to be able to run it).... this is on an unbranded desire ...
> 
> anyone else had this? I can't work out how to fix it (having tried uninstalling, and re-installing, and turning it off and on again) without doing a factory reset, anyone got any ideas?


Argh..fucked mine as well. Not sure how I got it running but after I uninstalled and reinstalled it's hanging on syncing.  At least gmail can be accessed through the browser.


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 10, 2010)

Oooh except now it works! And I've made new shortcuts which work. Dunno what that 15 minute wobble was about.


----------



## ohmyliver (Dec 10, 2010)

I deleted some apps, and reinstalled it and now the link in the apps menu works....


----------



## Hocus Eye. (Dec 11, 2010)

mauvais said:


> I may be wrong, but I don't think there are any apps to do it on a Desire, for security reasons. You can do it, but you have to use development tools on a PC.


 
There are three apps that seem to promise to do a printscreen at first but all of them state that they only work on a rooted phone. If I wanted to do this I would take a photograph with my digital camera.


----------



## editor (Dec 11, 2010)

Just got rid of MixZing music player to make way for the supreme awesomeness of POWERAmp.


----------



## gawkrodger (Dec 13, 2010)

got my Desire today. Having fun with it at the mo, though I haven't a fucking clue what i'm doing with half of it at the mo.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Dec 14, 2010)

editor said:


> Just got rid of MixZing music player to make way for the supreme awesomeness of POWERAmp.


 
same here, been using Mort Player for ages but PowerAmp's EQ puts it in a different league


----------



## quimcunx (Dec 14, 2010)

Someone has sent me a text from their new number.  How can I get that new number into my phonebook?  


 I'm generally finding the actual phone functions on this a bit shit.  A lot shit, actually.


----------



## gorski (Dec 14, 2010)

Copy and Paste functions? I thought I saw it somewhere...

Transferring the numbers from my old Sony-Ericsson I lost all second and third numbers to a person... That part, I thought, is shit - IF others have had the same problem...

Or was it down to different formats or summat - dunno...???

Others things in the phone dptm are annoying, too...


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 14, 2010)

quimcunx said:


> Someone has sent me a text from their new number.  How can I get that new number into my phonebook?


 
Open message, press and hold, then select the appropriate option.


----------



## quimcunx (Dec 14, 2010)

what copy and paste functions?  How about I press menu when I'm in the text and it gives me the option to save the number like was possible on my old dumbphone? 


Actually I meant to ask about c&p  anyway as I found myself typing out the code to  post a pic here the other day.....  


I don't think this is primarily a phone.  I wanted phone first, camera second and internet access third.  This is a geek gadget which includes a phone function.


----------



## quimcunx (Dec 14, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Open message, press and hold, then select the appropriate option.


 
press what and hold?


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 14, 2010)

quimcunx said:


> press what and hold?


 
The message, what else?


----------



## quimcunx (Dec 14, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> The message, what else?


 
How the fuck would I know?  Don't pretend it's 'intuitive'.  The menu button maybe?  That would be the logical thing but no.  When I pressed the phone number the text came from intuitively it immediately started phoning her rather than give me options on what to do with that number.   I didn't want to phone her. 

Considering when I press the page number instead of the thread title on here the poxy fucking thing keeps trying to phone some random number.


----------



## sumimasen (Dec 14, 2010)

quimcunx press and hold the actual number you see on the screen!


----------



## quimcunx (Dec 14, 2010)

sumimasen said:


> quimcunx press and hold the actual number you see on the screen!


 
When I did that the phone started making a call to that number.  Like I already said up there. 

I've just pressed and held the message and it did give me the option of saving the number as bees said, but I've given up now as it seems to have frozen mid save.


----------



## gorski (Dec 14, 2010)

Pen and paper...

Yep, some things seem to be not so very well thought out...


----------



## quimcunx (Dec 14, 2010)

And where the fuck is voicemail?       I need to change my outgoing message.   I'm on the same network and used to just phone '1'.


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 14, 2010)

quimcunx said:


> And where the fuck is voicemail?       I need to change my outgoing message.   I'm on the same network and used to just phone '1'.


that was probably just a speeddial set up on the phone
try 901
or 121
maybe


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 14, 2010)

quimcunx said:


> And where the fuck is voicemail?       I need to change my outgoing message.   I'm on the same network and used to just phone '1'.


i have to phone 121 to get it. i must admit, after a few teething problems like you're getting quimmy, i am finding some things are starting to slot into place and make more sense now.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 14, 2010)

quimcunx said:


> And where the fuck is voicemail?       I need to change my outgoing message.   I'm on the same network and used to just phone '1'.


 
What network are you on? Press and hold 1 works for me and always has on T-Mobile.


----------



## quimcunx (Dec 14, 2010)

T-mobile. 

That does work, thanks.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 14, 2010)

fwiw the "press and hold" is a core thing for Android. Most things will bring up a context menu for what you can do with it when you do this


----------



## quimcunx (Dec 14, 2010)

I shall press and hold like a motherfucker from now on, bees.


----------



## Callum91 (Dec 18, 2010)

For some reason the touch screen on my Desire never seems to work if my hands are anything but bone dry, the slightest hint of moisture and it refuses to work properly. I've never had that problem with any other touch screen before.


----------



## mwgdrwg (Dec 18, 2010)

On my Hero the screen blacks out when on the phone, causing problems when you have to touch a button on automated services.

Does this happen on the Desire?


----------



## editor (Dec 18, 2010)

mwgdrwg said:


> On my Hero the screen blacks out when on the phone, causing problems when you have to touch a button on automated services.
> 
> Does this happen on the Desire?


There's a proximity sensor to turn off the screen when it's next to your noggin (to stop you accidentally pressing buttons) but the screen turns back on when I move it away from my lug'ole.


----------



## mwgdrwg (Dec 19, 2010)

editor said:


> There's a proximity sensor to turn off the screen when it's next to your noggin (to stop you accidentally pressing buttons) but the screen turns back on when I move it away from my lug'ole.



Ah, must be a feature of 2.2 then. I just stare angrily at a black screen on my 2.1  

Going to have to root my phone soon.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 19, 2010)

mwgdrwg said:


> Ah, must be a feature of 2.2 then. I just stare angrily at a black screen on my 2.1
> 
> Going to have to root my phone soon.



Nope, not a version thing, my Desire has worked like that since I got it...


----------



## mwgdrwg (Dec 19, 2010)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Nope, not a version thing, my Desire has worked like that since I got it...


 
Damn, looks like I'll have to find another solution.


----------



## joustmaster (Dec 19, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> For some reason the touch screen on my Desire never seems to work if my hands are anything but bone dry, the slightest hint of moisture and it refuses to work properly. I've never had that problem with any other touch screen before.


 
That's strange. I have used my desire when I have come straight out of the shower. It gets a bit wet but still works.
Are you sure your other fingers aren't slightly on the edge of the screen?


----------



## Callum91 (Dec 20, 2010)

joustmaster said:


> That's strange. I have used my desire when I have come straight out of the shower. It gets a bit wet but still works.
> Are you sure your other fingers aren't slightly on the edge of the screen?


 
I've tried everything, and unless my hands are drier than the Sahara desert it refuses to work properly.


----------



## editor (Dec 20, 2010)

Callum91 said:


> I've tried everything, and unless my hands are drier than the Sahara desert it refuses to work properly.


How does it work for other people using your phone?


----------



## fredfelt (Dec 20, 2010)

ohmyliver said:


> um, the new update for gmail has broken my gmail (in that the icon on the apps menu no longer works, and I have to go to the market/downloads to be able to run it).... this is on an unbranded desire ...
> 
> anyone else had this? I can't work out how to fix it (having tried uninstalling, and re-installing, and turning it off and on again) without doing a factory reset, anyone got any ideas?


 
The icon went on mine (defaulted to an android icod and stopped working) after an update but the app continued to work.  I just put the shortcut back in place and it worked fine.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 20, 2010)

The GMail update thing - I needed to reboot my phone, that sorted it.


----------



## Callum91 (Dec 20, 2010)

editor said:


> How does it work for other people using your phone?


 
Good question, I'll find out


----------



## fredfelt (Dec 21, 2010)

Is anyone on Orange and having trouble using their phone as a Dongle - either tethered or through the cable?  My computer connects to the phone but the phone refuses to allow a connection to the internet.

I tried the same on another Desire and my computer connected to the internet so it's a setting in the phone, or perhaps Orange somehow manage to block this.  The internet works on the phone ok, just refuses to allow other devices to connect.

Ta.  Phil


----------



## editor (Dec 21, 2010)

ContactWidget a great little app for displaying your most popular contacts on your homescreen. Very slick and miles better than the HTC one.


----------



## Callum91 (Dec 21, 2010)

BigPhil said:


> Is anyone on Orange and having trouble using their phone as a Dongle - either tethered or through the cable?  My computer connects to the phone but the phone refuses to allow a connection to the internet.
> 
> I tried the same on another Desire and my computer connected to the internet so it's a setting in the phone, or perhaps Orange somehow manage to block this.  The internet works on the phone ok, just refuses to allow other devices to connect.
> 
> Ta.  Phil


 
I'm having this problem too.


----------



## lemontop (Dec 21, 2010)

Getting one of these delivered tomorrow (snow permitting) am very excited!


----------



## dogroughzine (Dec 25, 2010)

since my upgrade is due in a few days i've been toying between the Desire and the Samsung Galaxy S. I'm pretty much settled on the Desire now, but after reading this thread i am now feeling a strange combination of excitement and apprehension, but have picked up a some useful tips in browsing this thread. it's gonna be a hell of a change from the good old sony ericsson OS that i knew and loved (before some tart nicked it out my pocket in benidorm!)


----------



## editor (Dec 25, 2010)

Both the Desire and Galaxy are ace phones but the lack of a camera flash on the Samsung ruled it out for me.


----------



## dogroughzine (Dec 25, 2010)

editor said:


> Both the Desire and Galaxy are ace phones but the lack of a camera flash on the Samsung ruled it out for me.


 
thanks for reminding of that, the flash really is a deciding factor. sorted, i'm excited now haha, this old knacker is useless.


----------



## gorski (Dec 25, 2010)

And no VGA camera facing the caller, so no 2-way video-calls...

Some smartphones do have them but Android is only beginning to deal with it....


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 29, 2010)

I seem to have had another system update. 2.29.405.5 now - no idea what is different.

Oh yeah, and when you stick stuff on your honmescreens can you slide them on to a different screen? I can't do it sober but when I've been drunk all my icons end up in disarray.


----------



## ohmyliver (Dec 29, 2010)

wtfftw said:


> I seem to have had another system update. 2.29.405.5 now - no idea what is different.



have a look at the marketplace


----------



## wtfftw (Dec 29, 2010)

That was the 2.29.405.2 update wasn't it?


----------



## dogroughzine (Dec 30, 2010)

sorry i've tried my best to browse this thread but just need a brief list of popular basic apps. i've set up facebook, twitter, gmail etc but is there a better way than using all the individual apps? can't seem to find any widget for gmail. 

what's recommended for football results? i'm lost with the sheer volume of apps haha it's like christmas.


----------



## dogroughzine (Dec 30, 2010)

needing a quality sports (mainly football results) app, all the ones i've found look a bit shabby


----------



## editor (Dec 30, 2010)

The Sky ones are good but I won't use them because they're by Sky. Footy Focus is a good, simple app that works for me.


----------



## dogroughzine (Dec 30, 2010)

having a few connectivity problems too, connected to wifi fine but getting "emergency calls only" message and can't make calls or anything, not unusual for t-mobile though hopefully it'll just take an hour or two to sort itself out.


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 30, 2010)

dogroughzine said:


> can't seem to find any widget for gmail.


There isn;t a good widget for gmail. What I do is use launcher pro instead of the standard launcher. This gives you four dock spaces, if you add gmail to one of those you can set it so it tells you how many unread emails there are on the dock icon. Also works for SMS and missed calls.

Like this:


----------



## Gromit (Dec 30, 2010)

dogroughzine said:


> needing a quality sports (mainly football results) app, all the ones i've found look a bit shabby


 
I use scoreboard. Though I've found it to be a bit slow updating live scores of late. Used to be really fast when it first came out but now it can be upto 15 minutes before a goal is announced.


----------



## Citizen66 (Dec 31, 2010)

Just acquired the desire z. Go me.

We need a decent summary of this thread really.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 2, 2011)

How is the Z? It's the closest out there to what I want, but really I'm waiting for a dual core version. But vanilla android with a decent hardware keyboard is appealing. Hows the weight?


----------



## gorski (Jan 3, 2011)

I just did a system update, via WiFi, for Desire... rebooting... let's see what are they admitting to have been "not as good as they have claimed/wished for", thereby embarrassing their dogmatic believers here...  V. 2.29.405.2. After the update ads are getting through... Nice to see they are thinking of us, so hard...

Gonna install the *zedge *now for loadsa ringtones and wallpapers...

My wife says that *Profile Valet* is good on Wlidfire. *Profile Manager* can go for Desire but not for Wildfire. Switch on/off sound, WiFi etc. at certain times of day/week etc.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jan 3, 2011)

gorski said:


> I just did a system update, via WiFi, for Desire... rebooting... let's see what are they admitting to have been "not as good as they have claimed/wished for", thereby embarrassing their dogmatic believers here...  V. 2.29.405.2. After the update ads are getting through... Nice to see they are thinking of us, so hard...


 
What on earth are you going on about now?


----------



## fogbat (Jan 3, 2011)

He should never have upgraded from that Etch-a-Sketch.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Jan 3, 2011)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> What on earth are you going on about now?


 
Nobody knows, but I wish he'd stop. This is a really useful thread when he's not carpet bombing it with nonsense


----------



## Fingers (Jan 3, 2011)

i now have a desire!


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 3, 2011)

That's it, I'm blocking the twat.


----------



## gorski (Jan 3, 2011)

Hehe, no wonder some here recognise themselves...   

Btw, all is best in Droid world - of all the best possible worlds... 

It's just that ads couldn't get through my old setup, with some helpers [SW] and now they do... That was difficult, riiiight...


----------



## editor (Jan 3, 2011)

gorski said:


> Hehe, no wonder some here recognise themselves...
> 
> Btw, all is best in Droid world - of all the best possible worlds...
> 
> It's just that ads couldn't get through my old setup, with some helpers [SW] and now they do... That was difficult, riiiight...


You mean you were trying to deprive software developers of any income for their work by blocking in-app ads?


----------



## gorski (Jan 3, 2011)

Oh, yeah... 

Actually, not me - other developers, strictly speaking... 

Which means there never is just one possibility, in whatever brach of Human activity...

Which some here seem to "think" is the case... I.e. no other view is possible... Other than their own, that is... 

Now, how endearing is that?


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jan 3, 2011)

gorski said:


> Oh, yeah...
> 
> Actually, not me - other developers, strictly speaking...
> 
> ...


 
Any chance of this in English?


----------



## editor (Jan 3, 2011)

gorski said:


> Which some here seem to "think" is the case... I.e. no other view is possible... Other than their own, that is...
> 
> Now, how endearing is that?


That makes no sense at all. Can you try and answer my question again please.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Jan 3, 2011)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Any chance of this in English?



As it's Gorski, probably not. He can't make a post that's smiley and/or pretension-free.


----------



## gorski (Jan 4, 2011)

Piss off, VP. You know very well what it means.

For those of you pretending to have fallen from Mars: it means school-yard bullying shite is being played over and over again, as anyone can see!

Other, more knowledgeable people [really helpful and critically minded] than these bullies who hold themselves in such a high regard [you know who you are, with complex of superiority streaming down your noses], can't possibly be acknowledged to know anything more than them - because they are not in the gang... So, they ignore what they say and go after those who obviously know less then them [me].

What I say is never examined properly but is just spat at from on high, disregarding any points and twisting them to be unrecognisable, so it would be easier to dispose of.

Pathetic! You should be pitied!

How is wanting to be in control of your device bad?

How is awareness of how it really behaves and not blindly believing what the corporates have told you - bad?

But for some amongst those brainless bullies it's better not to worry about those little details...

Pretend that the OS is perfect, flawless - because Google says so!

Sad sods!

Look at the evidence! [Scientists!  BAH!!! PATHETIC!!!]

Other developers have written apps to stop precisely what I was protesting against - for no reason?

Apps to give you more control, to take some control away from the OS and "misbehaving" apps is bad?

And you just couldn't see I was asking and actively searching for such help?

Riiiiiiiiiiiighhttt....  Some "brains"...


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

gorski said:


> Piss off, VP. You know very well what it means.
> 
> For those of you pretending to have fallen from Mars: it means school-yard bullying shite is being played over and over again, as anyone can see!
> 
> ...


I still haven't the foggiest idea what you're ranting on about and really wish you'd stop disrupting this useful thread with these weird outbursts.


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Jan 4, 2011)

gorski is a loony innit?


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

Paulie Tandoori said:


> gorski is a loony innit?


That's not helping.


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Jan 4, 2011)

editor said:


> That's not helping.


so you haven't got "_the foggiest idea what you're ranting on about and really wish you'd stop disrupting this useful thread with these weird outbursts_" (as in your earlier post) but you're more content to have a row with me instead? come on then loony


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 4, 2011)

So anyway.

I'm still trying to work out how the fuck I move icons on to other screens (when drunk) as I can't move them back (when sober).


----------



## Redeyes (Jan 4, 2011)

wtfftw said:


> So anyway.
> 
> I'm still trying to work out how the fuck I move icons on to other screens (when drunk) as I can't move them back (when sober).


 
Long press on the icon until it's ready to move then drag it right to the edge of the screen and wait for the screen to advance to the next one. Do this until you reach your desired screen and then drop it where you want it.


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks!  no wonder I manage it when drunk.


----------



## gorski (Jan 4, 2011)

Editor, what you imply is simply incorrect for the following reasons:

0) Propaganda is one thing and facts quite another, especially when behind the PR stand commercial interests of a Corporation and their "allies", seriously interested in having as much info on us as possible. Some here need to screw their heads on straight...

1) "Updates" are there for a reason. There are bugs and shortcomings that need addressing. 

2) Some consider Froyo flawless, perfect, absolutely fantastic, because Google told them it is.

3) Some others [really knowledgeable guys] told those poor sods that is not the case, either with the OS or with a number of apps.

4) They ignored those guys but attacked those those they see as an easy target [me, not from technical sciences].

5) Sissies and cowards. That is what/who bullies are.

6) Wanting to be in proper control of your machine is what I asked for. To some that is sacrilege or something akin to it...

7) To that end many a developer has developed apps to counteract the flaws of the OS. Flaws or commercial BS, that is, which to my mind is more or less the same.

8) Therefore, any attacks on me were and are idiotic, as in any field of Human activity there must be more possibilities than one. Deffo more than a school-yard gang "ideas" of what is "sane" and what is "loony". Really, that IS pathetic!

9) I was giving another point of view, at the same time adding to various apps testing and sharing info. THEY chose to attack that which they don't understand or disagree with [not that they have thought it through!!!], which is pretty much middle ages BS, the attitude worthy of Inquisition or some such "enlightened" organisation, approving or disapproving POVs... FFS!!!

10) Some have expressed total disinterest in how the OS and various apps behave, when it comes to security of the users' data, when I stated that such nonsense is abominable and ought to be addressed. To your credit you started a thread about these issues. But you have seen the response... To some it is much better to live in ignorance. I am a philosopher. My whole _habitus _revolves around truth.

Go figure...


----------



## joustmaster (Jan 4, 2011)

Have you recently driven to dundee in your bare feet?
Do you like toblerone?


----------



## Redeyes (Jan 4, 2011)

gorski said:


> 6) Wanting to be in proper control of your machine is what I asked for. To some that is sacrilege or something akin to it...



If you rooted your phone you would then be its master. Surely this is the goal you seek?


----------



## Citizen66 (Jan 4, 2011)

Can everybody just agree with gorski to help him with his bizarre hissy fit please?



cliche guevara said:


> How is the Z? It's the closest out there to what I want, but really I'm waiting for a dual core version. But vanilla android with a decent hardware keyboard is appealing. Hows the weight?



Doesn't feel that much heavier than my hero tbh, it's like a souped up G1.


----------



## gorski (Jan 4, 2011)

Indeed, we're the "in" crowd and we like soft targets.... School-yard bullies with nowt better to do. Pathetic!


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

gorski said:


> Indeed, we're the "in" crowd and we like soft targets.... School-yard bullies with nowt better to do. Pathetic!


OK. You've made your point now. *Several times.* I still haven't a clue what you're on about or why you're so angry but here's what's going to happen now:

This thread aims to be a useful resource for HTC Desire owners, so any more of your venting will be off topic and disruptive, so I'm telling you to stop.

You are, if course, free to start a whole new thread on whatever your beef is.


----------



## gorski (Jan 4, 2011)

Fine by me.

Tell it to *them *, too and I will have no grounds to have any beef.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jan 4, 2011)

So, in summary, Gorski feels that he'd being picked on by Android fanbois because he's not totally enamoured with Android and the Desire.


----------



## gorski (Jan 4, 2011)

Otherwise we would have a lot more on the topics/issues, not attacks on personalities... esp. those who dare ask awkward Q's...

I stated my objections quite clearly. But do you see anyone of "Da Gang", "Da In People" addressing any of them?

Mauvais and some other knowledgeable and guys of good will [as opposed to "Da Gang"] stated quite clearly that what I was asking for was not exactly groundless.

Grounds for it are:

-in not having the possibility to stop various things that come with Android etc. and 

-in "misbehaving apps", that weren't written well and didn't respect the api "directions"

-some of it resulting in constant starting of an app or process, regardless of whether or not one wants it to start - because a developer wants it to start and whatever you want is irrelevant - me arguing that it must drain the battery, for instance, not to mention the point below...

Namely, we have seen Editor's thread about the "leaking" of our details, esp. in Android!

These are all rational propositions.

I also noticed that sometimes my command wasn't immediately taking hold, so I may have presumed that it should have worked but it didn't. I would discover this later, by accident, and then, having repeated the command, it finally worked - i.e. an app worked as I ordered it to behave.

I have also contributed in reporting back what works with various A-V or A files and how. I added a few more apps for various tasks, like profile management etc.

Also, I reported how you can control your machine better with Advanced Task Killer, AutoStart Killer and have more security with Lookout.

I also wrote on some differences between Wildfire and Desire and apps available for them.

All the apps I used are free!

And I wasn't "contributing"... Yeah, right...

More like some here were not addressing certain issues I mentioned but just scoffed at it and kept bitching about it/me, instead of addressing the issues like security, for instance...

'Nuff said...


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

FFS: you've been warned. STOP this weird stuff please and start a new thread. If you must.


----------



## gorski (Jan 4, 2011)

In the last post I thought I was talking about the issues here, i.e. "tips, chats, recommendations" etc. as per the title of the thread.


----------



## joustmaster (Jan 4, 2011)

Can I be a member of this "gang". Sounds cool.


----------



## The Octagon (Jan 4, 2011)

Just interrupting the weirdness to say I finally put Swype on my desire and it's brilliant (if a little scary in a "how does it work? Witchcraft surely!" way) 

Also just got another update sent through that seems to have fixed some media playing issues and the signal seems better in previously shit areas (although that will probably be a coincidence).


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

gorski said:


> In the last post I thought I was talking about the issues here, i.e. "tips, chats, recommendations" etc. as per the title of the thread.


No, you were still banging on about the same weird 'gang' stuff: 



gorski said:


> Otherwise we would have a lot more on the topics/issues, not attacks on personalities... esp. those who dare ask awkward Q's...
> 
> I stated my objections quite clearly. But do you see anyone of "Da Gang", "Da In People" addressing any of them?
> 
> Mauvais and some other knowledgeable and guys of good will [as opposed to "Da Gang"] stated quite clearly that what I was asking for was not exactly groundless.


I've asked you nicely to stop several times. No more please.


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 4, 2011)

The Octagon said:


> Just interrupting the weirdness to say I finally put Swype on my desire and it's brilliant (if a little scary in a "how does it work? Witchcraft surely!" way)
> 
> Also just got another update sent through that seems to have fixed some media playing issues and the signal seems better in previously shit areas (although that will probably be a coincidence).


 What version are you on now? Now you mention it, might be something in the signal thing as I had a conversation the other day sitting somewhere where there is usually no signal.


----------



## joustmaster (Jan 4, 2011)

I've been using swype for a couple of weeks but am about to go back to the standard keyboard. I'm just not getting on with it much, although I can see why some like it.


----------



## Citizen66 (Jan 4, 2011)

I'm liking having a hardware qwerty again on my desire z. Totally does away with the which is the best software keyboard argument.


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

joustmaster said:


> I've been using swype for a couple of weeks but am about to go back to the standard keyboard. I'm just not getting on with it much, although I can see why some like it.


I really like Swype but its a reet fat bastard, weighing over 10MB.


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 4, 2011)

Yeah. Apps really need to sort out the whole moving to sd card thing.


----------



## Gromit (Jan 4, 2011)

wtfftw said:


> Yeah. Apps really need to sort out the whole moving to sd card thing.


 
Editor recommended PowerAmp. I looked at it. Thought yeah its quite nice. Saw it was 5MB+. Doesn't move to SD card. It got uninstalled.

Page me when you work out how to work from SD Mr Amp. I'm doubting that its rocket science.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jan 4, 2011)

Citizen66 said:


> I'm liking having a hardware qwerty again on my desire z. Totally does away with the which is the best software keyboard argument.


 
I still miss a hardware keyboard. I've got used to the soft one now but it's still nowhere as nice to use as the proper one I had on my G1.


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

The biggest single drawback of the Desire is the relatively small amount of space for apps. Mind you, that's a lot to do with the fact that it's burdened with a load of bundled junk from Orange, so I guess it's just a case of biting the bullet and rooting the thing.

I had a go on my mate's HTC Desire HD - he had tons of apps on it - and still had 385MB spare!


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jan 4, 2011)

The Desire Z is an interesting handset - especially at T-Mobile's prices.


----------



## Blagsta (Jan 4, 2011)

Some apps can be moved to SD


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

Blagsta said:


> Some apps can be moved to SD


Indeed they can, but quite a lot of them still need to be on the phone.


----------



## Gromit (Jan 4, 2011)

16 out of my 49 downloaded apps are able to live on SD.

32% of my apps then basically.

I'd rather that was 99% tbh.


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 4, 2011)

Was it this thread many millions of posts ago that Quoad was bemoaning running out of space? And we were all like, "naaah". Sorry Quaod!


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jan 4, 2011)

God knows what you lot are downloading, coz I've never moved a single one to the SD card and have never had a problem


----------



## Idaho (Jan 4, 2011)

I couldn't run some update because I lacked space. I couldn't figure out how to move apps to the SD card so just chucked away some of the crap I had accumulated. 

I suppose to some the lack of space would be a problem. But I can't say that it has genuinely caused me any problems.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 4, 2011)

editor said:


> I really like Swype but its a reet fat bastard, weighing over 10MB.


 
Have you tried the gingerbread keyboard? It's a 'hunt and peck', but even more efficient than Swiftkey imo, very good indeed.


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> God knows what you lot are downloading, coz I've never moved a single one to the SD card and have never had a problem


One of the biggest hogs is the HTC contacts storage at 16.6MB, then Swype 10.75MB, Maps 9.2MB and Scrabble 7MB.


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> Have you tried the gingerbread keyboard? It's a 'hunt and peck', but even more efficient than Swiftkey imo, very good indeed.


I've stuck with Swype, although everyone says that SwiftKey is supposed to be the next best choice. How much space does it take?


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 4, 2011)

editor said:


> I've stuck with Swype, although everyone says that SwiftKey is supposed to be the next best choice. How much space does it take?


 
I do love Swype but I find the correction to be laboured, it doesn't always do what you ant, and adding/removing words to the dictionary is troublesome.

Swiftkey is a tiny app, only about 1.5mb, Gingerbread keyboard is about 3.5mb. The main advantage of the gingerbread keyboard is that it takes up only slightly over half the space of most other keyboards, yet is still remarkably accurate.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Jan 4, 2011)

joustmaster said:


> I've been using swype for a couple of weeks but am about to go back to the standard keyboard. I'm just not getting on with it much, although I can see why some like it.



 I couldn't get on with Swype either, so moved on to Swiftkey. It's much like a standard predictive input but with scary next word prediction abilities, particularly after it's had a while to learn your vocabulary and phraseology.


----------



## sumimasen (Jan 4, 2011)

I used Swype for several days, but in the end I prefer the two handed approach. Currently midway through SwiftKey 's one month free trial, and I suspect that in a couple of weeks I'll be buying it. 

On the subject of low storage space, it just so happened that today for several hours I had that really annoying notification saying I had little space left. I uninstalled a couple of apps to no avail, and in the end it took the clearing of several app caches for that notification to disappear. 

Anyone know whether photos are stored on phone or sd card?  It occurred to me that might be a factor.


----------



## Citizen66 (Jan 4, 2011)

sumimasen said:


> Anyone know whether photos are stored on phone or sd card?  It occurred to me that might be a factor.



SD card. As they handily moved from my hero to my desire.


----------



## editor (Jan 4, 2011)

sumimasen said:


> Anyone know whether photos are stored on phone or sd card?  It occurred to me that might be a factor.


SD card.


----------



## sumimasen (Jan 5, 2011)

Is there an app for show me what's using up all my strongest storage? That low storage notification is back!


----------



## editor (Jan 5, 2011)

sumimasen said:


> Is there an app for show me what's using up all my strongest storage? That low storage notification is back!


Go to homescreen. Click menu button -> settings -> applications ->manage applications. Press menu and select 'sort by size.'


----------



## King Biscuit Time (Jan 5, 2011)

While we're talking about Phone/SD card storage - Can anyone tell me why I can only move certain Apps etc to the SD card. The 'Move to SD Card' button is greyed out on a good 75% of my stuff.


----------



## mauvais (Jan 5, 2011)

sumimasen said:


> Is there an app for show me what's using up all my strongest storage? That low storage notification is back!





editor said:


> Go to homescreen. Click menu button -> settings -> applications ->manage applications. Press menu and select 'sort by size.'


Note that these sizes don't include SD card storage - so what you see is what's on the phone itself. Even when you move to SD, it still has something on the phone. The only exception is updates to stock apps which aren't quite as big as they say they are. Took me a while to figure all this out.



King Biscuit Time said:


> While we're talking about Phone/SD card storage - Can anyone tell me why I can only move certain Apps etc to the SD card. The 'Move to SD Card' button is greyed out on a good 75% of my stuff.


The app developer needs to support it. Some never bothered and some don't for legit reasons. You also can't move the apps that came with the phone. There's an app called SDMove (I think) that highlights which ones you can move but haven't.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Jan 5, 2011)

gorski said:


> Piss off, VP. You know very well what it means.
> 
> For those of you pretending to have fallen from Mars: it means school-yard bullying shite is being played over and over again, as anyone can see!



Have you ever considered that the reason why many people interact with you in a certain way, a way that you perceive as "bullying", but isn't, is because your own mode of interaction, your over-use of "rolleyes" smilies, for example, lead people to see you as an arrogant, sarcastic sack of shit?

Actually, that'd require reflexivity, wouldn't it?


----------



## ViolentPanda (Jan 5, 2011)

ChrisFilter said:


> So, in summary, Gorski feels that he'd being picked on by Android fanbois because he's not totally enamoured with Android and the Desire.


 
Is anyone, even the Jobs-ites, ever "totally enamoured" of an OS/hardware combination?
I read these threads on smartphone/OS combos with interest, plus the stuff on the ed's "wirefresh" site, but I've resisted (and will keep resisting) actually buying one until I don't read quite so many quibbles.


----------



## editor (Jan 5, 2011)

ViolentPanda said:


> Is anyone, even the Jobs-ites, ever "totally enamoured" of an OS/hardware combination?
> I read these threads on smartphone/OS combos with interest, plus the stuff on the ed's "wirefresh" site, but I've resisted (and will keep resisting) actually buying one until I don't read quite so many quibbles.


There's only one real 'quibble' I have with my phone, and that's the issue of space - and that's a result of getting one stuffed full of Orange shite and installing ten zillion apps myself.

Get  a new handset like the Desire HD and the problem goes away.


----------



## gorski (Jan 5, 2011)

So, say "thank you", VP...


----------



## Chz (Jan 5, 2011)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> I couldn't get on with Swype either, so moved on to Swiftkey. It's much like a standard predictive input but with scary next word prediction abilities, particularly after it's had a while to learn your vocabulary and phraseology.


 
Scary isn't the word! 
It gets frightening when you can type out an entire reply, several sentences long, rarely typing more than 2 letters of any word. I'm sure it's going to suddenly change the app's name to SkyNet and start launching missiles at any moment.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jan 5, 2011)

Tempted by the Desire HD, the LG Optimus 2X and the HTC Thunderbolt. It all comes down to launch dates and my patience.


----------



## editor (Jan 5, 2011)

ChrisFilter said:


> Tempted by the Desire HD, the LG Optimus 2X and the HTC Thunderbolt. It all comes down to launch dates and my patience.


The HD is a fabulous phone The screen is awesome!

But for me I want to get the next gen, and the LG is currently looking the most tempting.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jan 5, 2011)

editor said:


> The HD is a fabulous phone The screen is awesome!
> 
> But for me I want to get the next gen, and the LG is currently looking the most tempting.


 
Yeah, expansys have a release date of 22nd Feb for the LG so it probably won't be on the networks until late-March. Can I wait that long?! The only practical difference, for me, is the HDMI port.


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 5, 2011)

Chz said:


> Scary isn't the word!
> It gets frightening when you can type out an entire reply, several sentences long, rarely typing more than 2 letters of any word. I'm sure it's going to suddenly change the app's name to SkyNet and start launching missiles at any moment.


 I noticed I started saying what it suggested for me rather than what I had intended. 


editor said:


> There's only one real 'quibble' I have with my phone, and that's the issue of space - and that's a result of getting one stuffed full of Orange shite and installing ten zillion apps myself.
> 
> Get  a new handset like the Desire HD and the problem goes away.


My unbranded desire still fills up. But then, I do like an app.


----------



## Redeyes (Jan 5, 2011)

wtfftw said:


> My unbranded desire still fills up. But then, I do like an app.



Aye, same here. No Orange bloatware on my phone and I still have to keep juggling around now and then. I've found that going in and clearing all the data for the stock Facebook apps clears out a lot of space and I can still use Facebook via Tweetdeck without any problems. Just have to re-log in to FB if I use the stock app.


----------



## editor (Jan 5, 2011)

ChrisFilter said:


> Yeah, expansys have a release date of 22nd Feb for the LG so it probably won't be on the networks until late-March. Can I wait that long?! The only practical difference, for me, is the HDMI port.


But it's DUAL CORE fella!

I'm not entirely sure what difference that makes in practical terms but - fuck! - a dual core phone!


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jan 5, 2011)

editor said:


> But it's DUAL CORE fella!
> 
> I'm not entirely sure what difference that makes in practical terms but - fuck! - a dual core phone!


 
I know. This, and the fact that O2 don't appear to do the Desire HD, are the only things holding me back from going with the Desire HD.


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## cliche guevara (Jan 5, 2011)

ChrisFilter said:


> Tempted by the Desire HD, the LG Optimus 2X and the HTC Thunderbolt. It all comes down to launch dates and my patience.


The Thunderbolt is coming to the UK? Sweet, I was under the impression it was US only for some reason.


editor said:


> But it's DUAL CORE fella!
> 
> I'm not entirely sure what difference that makes in practical terms but - fuck! - a dual core phone!


Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't mean increased battery consumption. In fact, the strain on the battery will be less. Couple with these 1900mAh batteries this year is shaping up very well for the smartphone world.


----------



## dogroughzine (Jan 11, 2011)

been neglecting this thread a bit as been busy playing with my new Desire HD, and I must say it is impressive. My first smartphone and now i've got to keeping it on charge almost permanently it's fine haha.

couple of quibbles though, first of all the usb port on the phone itself is becoming loose already, and i've had the phone less than 3 weeks. i know this is bound to happen through time and to be fair i do plug and unplug it a fair big as i'm quite often moving about the house etc, but this is unavoidable which such battery heavy phones nowadays. should i get on to t-mobile straight away about this because it's only going to get worse, and fast.

i'm also thinking of getting it insured cos it's on a 24 month contract and i'd be sick if i lost / broke it. can this be done a few weeks after receiving and what's the best way to go about it?

i've got another quibble but it's more just about android OS so i'll put it there.

ta


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Jan 11, 2011)

i charge my desire most nights and haven't had any issues with the usb socket, it's still as tight and secure as it was on day one. i'd get onto the seller and get it repaired/replaced, there's no way you should be having problems after 3 weeks.

you can insure your phone, or anything other electricals at any time, just include it on your home insurance if you have any, or look online for separate phone insurance, maybe through moneysavingexpert.com or similar


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## sumimasen (Jan 13, 2011)

So I've synched my contacts with Facebook so now I have friends' numbers. The issue I have is that friend's phone numbers instead of being 07-------- the number has changed to 447---------. 

So now I can't call them from my address book because number is deemed unrecognised. 

What gives?


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jan 13, 2011)

sumimasen said:


> So I've synched my contacts with Facebook so now I have friends' numbers. The issue I have is that friend's phone numbers instead of being 07-------- the number has changed to 447---------.
> 
> So now I can't call them from my address book because number is deemed unrecognised.
> 
> What gives?


You need to put a + in front of the 44


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## sumimasen (Jan 13, 2011)

Should have nentioned, adding the + makes no difference. Oddly, the + is automatically 
removed!


----------



## Blagsta (Jan 14, 2011)

Does anyone else's browser sometimes just quit for no reason?


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jan 14, 2011)

Blagsta said:


> Does anyone else's browser sometimes just quit for no reason?


 
Only on the BBC site, only occasionally and only since a recent software update...


----------



## Blagsta (Jan 14, 2011)

Mine just did it twice in a row on here.


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## Gromit (Jan 14, 2011)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Only on the BBC site, only occasionally and only since a recent software update...


 
Disabling java fixes that.

BBC sport crashes all the time when i have my java on.


----------



## Barking_Mad (Jan 16, 2011)

I have a HTC Desire arriving on Tuesday so have a few questions....

1) Will i have to update the phone with the latest firmware or should it already be on it?
2) I hear that people are having problems with lack of space for their apps, what's the best work around?
3) What is the must have apps? I hear a good app killer is a must for saving battery power?

Im most excited especially as I had 6 months to go on my old Nokia E71, but 3 kindly canceled the contract and didn't charge me for doing so


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Jan 16, 2011)

Barking_Mad said:


> I have a HTC Desire arriving on Tuesday so have a few questions....
> 
> 1) Will i have to update the phone with the latest firmware or should it already be on it?



I got mine on Vodafone just before Xmas, and it shipped with 2.1, not 2.2. First thing after the initial charge and setup screens, go to Settins/about phone/system software updates and the update should be waiting for you. Bit of a pain in the arse, but it's pretty straightforward and doesn't take very long. It is worth doing though.


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## Blagsta (Jan 16, 2011)

I got an o2 desire just before Xmas. Came with latest OS.

Move all the apps you can to your SD card (not all will move)

You don't need a task killer - Android manages all that for you


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## Herbsman. (Jan 16, 2011)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> I got mine on Vodafone just before Xmas, and it shipped with 2.1, not 2.2. First thing after the initial charge and setup screens, go to Settins/about phone/system software updates and the update should be waiting for you. Bit of a pain in the arse, but it's pretty straightforward and doesn't take very long. It is worth doing though.


I got an automatic notification that the update was available


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## Blagsta (Jan 17, 2011)

My browser keeps quitting unexpectedly.


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## editor (Jan 17, 2011)

I'm not getting this at all. What network are you on?

Oh, if you install the Dolphin HD browser you should be OK.


----------



## Blagsta (Jan 17, 2011)

On o2 but connected via home wi-fi. It seems to happen when typing, dunno if its the keyboard.


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## ChrisFilter (Jan 17, 2011)

Blagsta said:


> My browser keeps quitting unexpectedly.


 
Dell Streak users are reporting the same. I'm fine but others on 2.2 have been affected.


----------



## editor (Jan 17, 2011)

Blagsta said:


> On o2 but connected via home wi-fi. It seems to happen when typing, dunno if its the keyboard.


Maybe try another browser/keyboard?


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## Dan U (Jan 17, 2011)

My text messages have started playing up. The message I click on isnt the one that opens sometimes.

I initially thought it was fat fingerdness but I've ruled that out now.

Blagsta - getting tapatalk might be worth a thought.


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## grit (Jan 17, 2011)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> You need to put a + in front of the 44


 
If its not liking the plus use 00 instead.


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 18, 2011)

I get the message thing and the browser crashing thing.


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## quimcunx (Jan 18, 2011)

Dan U said:


> My text messages have started playing up. The message I click on isnt the one that opens sometimes.
> 
> I initially thought it was fat fingerdness but I've ruled that out now.
> 
> Blagsta - getting tapatalk might be worth a thought.



I got that yesterday! Just the once. 

What are ''app killers''?   

Mine keeps prompting me to phone the date.  When I'm on here and my fat fingers miss the thread title and go to the date instead it takes me to phone with the date as the phone number.


----------



## twentythreedom (Jan 18, 2011)

i see there's an htc desire hd on the market... i was close to getting a standard desire, has anyone got the hd and is it any good?


----------



## Hocus Eye. (Jan 18, 2011)

The ordinary Desire is thirsty enough for juice I would think the HD one would be a lot worse.


----------



## joustmaster (Jan 18, 2011)

quimcunx said:


> I got that yesterday! Just the once.
> 
> What are ''app killers''?
> 
> Mine keeps prompting me to phone the date.  When I'm on here and my fat fingers miss the thread title and go to the date instead it takes me to phone with the date as the phone number.


 I too suffer from "sausage finger" - try clicking in the envelope next to the thread title.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 18, 2011)

Hocus Eye. said:


> The ordinary Desire is thirsty enough for juice I would think the HD one would be a lot worse.


 
The HD has a newer and more efficient processor, which is supposed to balance out the extra juice consumed by the larger screen.


----------



## Dan U (Jan 18, 2011)

quimcunx said:


> Mine keeps prompting me to phone the date.  When I'm on here and my fat fingers miss the thread title and go to the date instead it takes me to phone with the date as the phone number.



heh, mine does that too!

re: the texting, i've sent a few texts to the wrong people, notably one to my Mum meant for my Mrs!


----------



## wreckhead (Jan 18, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> The HD has a newer and more efficient processor, which is supposed to balance out the extra juice consumed by the larger screen.


 
I've had a Desire HD for a couple of months now and I have to say it's an awesome phone, but needs some tinkering to get the best out of it.  Battery life depends on how you use it - if I use it like a "normal" phone (maybe 1hr calls/day, texting people regularly, no gps, no bluetooth, no facebook sync etc. and 2G only) I'll easily get about 2 full days' use out of it before it needs charging.  Normally I charge when I get the opportunity though because who wants a "smart phone" without using it as such?!  The 4.3" screen is the biggest battery killer though, if I use it like a laptop and surf the net/play games for hours on end, the battery drains by approximately 10% per hour, sometimes more, and this is 60-80% down to the screen, according to the stats.

To keep my post on topic I'd suggest using Quick Settings and add the link to the homescreen to quickly tinker with battery-saving settings, install and add "2G-3G OnOff" on the homescreen and UNINSTALL any task killers.  On the back of that, OSMonitor is a very good app for seeing what processes are chewing your CPU (+ battery), and if you long press on the process you can manually kill it there.  This is how I found out why my phone was dying overnight just after xmas, when HTC pushed out their latest update (buggy and now recalled apparently) - turns out HTCSense.com sync was getting stuck and using 60-100% cpu constantly.  I removed the HTCSense.com account from my phone and voila, problem solved!


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 18, 2011)

I'd recommend using Juice Defender, it does all the things you've listed in your second paragraph for you. Live wallpaper also makes a hell of a difference, ditch it if you want to conserve battery.

I'm using a low stress ROM coupled with Juice Defender and a fairly basic home screen set up on my SF and can get over two full days of heavy use. An hour and a half of GBA emulator last night only drained the battery 7%.


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 20, 2011)

Currently I want to punch my desire in the face. Low phone memory.


----------



## editor (Jan 20, 2011)

wtfftw said:


> Currently I want to punch my desire in the face. Low phone memory.


Get App2SD, move the apps that can be shifted and then click on 'empty cache.'


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 20, 2011)

Will do.   have currently confused the fuck out of it by receiving a text while deleting texts.


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 20, 2011)

Everything moveable was already on the card and only 1.8MB cache. Argh. I blame swype but I love it.


----------



## editor (Jan 20, 2011)

wtfftw said:


> Everything moveable was already on the card and only 1.8MB cache. Argh. I blame swype but I love it.


That was one of the reasons I got rid of Swype. It's a reet bloatah!


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 20, 2011)

I can't get rid of swype! I will give them some feedback tho.

I'm going to look into browsers as I use the normal one and that's my third biggest thing. Or sort out some online bookmarks and keep data clear. Hmmm.


----------



## editor (Jan 20, 2011)

How is your browser the third biggest thing? Have you emptied its cache? You can reduce the amount that it caches in the browser settings, btw.

My top three lardy apps are:
Google Maps 9.35MB
Facebook 6.7MB
Scrabble 6.18MB


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 20, 2011)

Data for my browser was 10.93   cache empty 

My biggest thing is flash.


----------



## twentythreedom (Jan 20, 2011)

ok so i am tempted by this - htc desire hd on 3's 'one plan' - 2000 anytime / any net mins, 5000 texts, 'all-you-can-eat' data, 5000 3-to-3 mins, voicemail, 6 months spotify premium... all that for £35pm - sounds good, almost too good. am i missing something?


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 20, 2011)

twentythreedom said:


> ok so i am tempted by this - htc desire hd on 3's 'one plan' - 2000 anytime / any net mins, 5000 texts, 'all-you-can-eat' data, 5000 3-to-3 mins, voicemail, 6 months spotify premium... all that for £35pm - sounds good, almost too good. am i missing something?


 
Is that a 24 or 18 month plan? If it's 18 it is a good deal. How much data do you get within the fair usage policy?


----------



## twentythreedom (Jan 20, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> Is that a 24 or 18 month plan? If it's 18 it is a good deal. How much data do you get within the fair usage policy?



24 month. does that make it less good? any other competitive plans you know of? the 'all-you-can-eat' data is their latest carrot - my usage would be nothing particularly extreme, so i assume that it would be well within any limits. so, should i get it? i'm very tempted. 

there's no way i'll excede the standard allowances in the plan - is there something i'm overlooking? some sneaky shit that'll cost me? 

'back in the day', when i was djing and promoting full time / full on, before inclusive shit in tarriffs, my bills from orange were regularly 25+ pages of itemised calls, often costing £200 or more each month!


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 20, 2011)

twentythreedom said:


> 24 month. does that make it less good? any other competitive plans you know of? the 'all-you-can-eat' data is their latest carrot - my usage would be nothing particularly extreme, so i assume that it would be well within any limits. so, should i get it? i'm very tempted.
> 
> there's no way i'll excede the standard allowances in the plan - is there something i'm overlooking? some sneaky shit that'll cost me?
> 
> 'back in the day', when i was djing and promoting full time / full on, before inclusive shit in tarriffs, my bills from orange were regularly 25+ pages of itemised calls, often costing £200 or more each month!


 
Well the extra six months makes £210 worth of difference! You are getting a lot for that package, if you're going to use it I'd say it could be worthwhile, but bear in mind you're shelling out £840 for a handset that can be picked up for £450, and tying yourself in for two years as well. I'd buy the phone outright then use GiffGaff's £10 goodybag, getting 250 minutes, unlimited texts and internet. Over the same 24 months you'd be saving £150, and you have the freedom to sell and upgrade at any time.


----------



## twentythreedom (Jan 20, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> Well the extra six months makes £210 worth of difference! You are getting a lot for that package, if you're going to use it I'd say it could be worthwhile, but bear in mind you're shelling out £840 for a handset that can be picked up for £450, and tying yourself in for two years as well. I'd buy the phone outright then use GiffGaff's £10 goodybag, getting 250 minutes, unlimited texts and internet. Over the same 24 months you'd be saving £150, and you have the freedom to sell and upgrade at any time.



nice one cliche, good info. where do i get the handset for £450, and what's giffgaff all about? never heard of it..

e2a- also i need to keep my number, on voda payg currently - can i do that?


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 20, 2011)

twentythreedom said:


> nice one cliche, good info. where do i get the handset for £450, and what's giffgaff all about? never heard of it..


 
GiffGaff are a 'new' network provider, they use the O2 network iirc. Check out their website to what they're all about http://giffgaff.com/ They've been great for me, I've been with them for three months now. They work exclusively online, and reward customers with free minutes and credit for answering questions on their forums, so the support is pretty good. Prices are dirt cheap too.

Clove are doing the handset for £438, or if you'd prefer a more well known retailer Play and Amazon both have it listed for £459.99.

Worth bearing in mind that new dual core phones have recently been announced, and HTC are expected to join the party in the Spring. Not that you'll find the Desire HD lacking in power, it's a beast.


----------



## twentythreedom (Jan 20, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> GiffGaff are a 'new' network provider, they use the O2 network iirc. Check out their website to what they're all about http://giffgaff.com/ They've been great for me, I've been with them for three months now. They work exclusively online, and reward customers with free minutes and credit for answering questions on their forums, so the support is pretty good. Prices are dirt cheap too.
> 
> Clove are doing the handset for £438, or if you'd prefer a more well known retailer Play and Amazon both have it listed for £459.99.
> 
> Worth bearing in mind that new dual core phones have recently been announced, and HTC are expected to join the party in the Spring. Not that you'll find the Desire HD lacking in power, it's a beast.


 
cool, nice one. although you've got me wondering if i should wait for dual-core now. how much difference will it make? consider me to be an essentially 'normal' phone user - is the dual-core shit gonna make a massive difference to my day-to-day experience?


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 20, 2011)

It will give faster processing speeds (obviously), and more efficient battery use. At the minute, there's not anything I can think of available for Android that will strain the Desire HD's processor, but in eighteen months there probably will be. Mind you, my old HTC Magic ran most things available on the market fine, and that only had a 400mhz processor. I don't think the Desire HD is going to look weak for a while as yet, but tech moves very fast.


----------



## Barking_Mad (Jan 21, 2011)

ive read in plenty of places that app killers are a waste of time and more importantly battery.


----------



## Dan U (Jan 21, 2011)

can i just say that as someone who is a bit clueless about this kind of stuff, but loves his HTC Desire, this thread and the other Android threads are boss.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 21, 2011)

Barking_Mad said:


> ive read in plenty of places that app killers are a waste of time and more importantly battery.


 
For 2.1 and above, yes. For Donut or Cupcake users app killers are almost a necessity.


----------



## mauvais (Jan 21, 2011)

I haven't tried a full run on a Desire, but I just got *32 days'* battery life out of a San Francisco by putting it in airplane mode and not using it. Proves that the Android overhead is actually hardly anything at all. Extrapolating from previous tests I expect the Desire would get about half that, maybe a bit less.

Not much _use_, obviously, but again illustrates that our usage patterns are responsible for crap battery life.


----------



## twentythreedom (Jan 22, 2011)

right, i'm gonna get a desire hd. anyone got the 'HTC Media Link DLNA Adaptor DG H100 (incl HDMI Cable + UK Plug)'

http://www.htcaccessorystore.com/uk/p_htc_item.aspx?i=208287

looks useful. also wondering about 3's wi-fi gadget, basically a wi-fi network in your pocket. useful for the laptop, or not?

tell me please, oh wise ones. i'm just getting a bit over-stimulated by gadget porn and the filthy ideas it's put in my mind!


----------



## quimcunx (Jan 23, 2011)

Clicked on link from fb and said j had max Windows open. Fix?


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 23, 2011)

Close some windows? Standard browser can only handle so many. You've probably been opening a new one every time you click a link and never closed the old ones. Menu -> windows.


----------



## Herbsman. (Jan 25, 2011)

quimcunx said:


> Clicked on link from fb and said j had max Windows open. Fix?


 Try Opera browser. Has some annoying niggles (and no 'share page via...' option) but allows lots of windows open

Also, loads pages faster than the inbuilt browser.


----------



## editor (Jan 25, 2011)

twentythreedom said:


> looks useful. also wondering about 3's wi-fi gadget, basically a wi-fi network in your pocket. useful for the laptop, or not?


I just use the built in wi-fi hot spot on the Desire.


----------



## Barking_Mad (Jan 25, 2011)

Had my Desire a week now and despite thinking it's a great phone technically, it's spoiled heavily by the fact it's battery (or lack of) makes it very limited in certain situations were you'd want heavy use of it. And yes, i can turn stuff down and off, but that makes it a dumb phone, not a smart one.

It's not quite bad enough to send it back, but it's not far off.


----------



## editor (Jan 25, 2011)

Barking_Mad said:


> Had my Desire a week now and despite thinking it's a great phone technically, it's spoiled heavily by the fact it's battery (or lack of) makes it very limited in certain situations were you'd want heavy use of it. And yes, i can turn stuff down and off, but that makes it a dumb phone, not a smart one.
> 
> It's not quite bad enough to send it back, but it's not far off.


You should get a decent enough battery life out of it - the Desire has one of the better battery lives of all smartpohnes (equal to the iPhone 4) so have you turned off all the auto updating stuff you don't need?


----------



## fredfelt (Jan 25, 2011)

Barking_Mad said:


> Had my Desire a week now and despite thinking it's a great phone technically, it's spoiled heavily by the fact it's battery (or lack of) makes it very limited in certain situations were you'd want heavy use of it. And yes, i can turn stuff down and off, but that makes it a dumb phone, not a smart one.
> 
> It's not quite bad enough to send it back, but it's not far off.


 
Put the 'power control' default widget on your home screen.  Use this to turn off / on wi-fi, GPS, blue tooth, etc.


----------



## Gromit (Jan 25, 2011)

editor said:


> (equal to the iPhone 4)


 
I'd dispute that but the saving grace is being able to carry a spare. 

By biggest battery gripe is the recharge time. iPhone batteries charge very much faster.


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 25, 2011)

Don't use live wallpapers.


What charger makes a massive difference. I'm on some shitty one as my proper one broke. It takes ages now.


----------



## editor (Jan 25, 2011)

Gromit said:


> I'd dispute that but the saving grace is being able to carry a spare.


Check out this month's PC Pro where the battery life of each phone has been compared. 

This guy has got it about right:


> As anyone who owns an iPhone will be able to tell you - the battery life is rubbish. Even if you don’t think it’s rubbish, at the very least, it’s disappointing.
> 
> Well, as it turns out, its actually about average when you compare it to devices that do similar things.  It’s not great, but then, you wont find a device that accomplishes everything the iPhone that does while having much better battery performance.
> 
> ...


----------



## wtfftw (Jan 25, 2011)

It lasts a lot longer than my netbook.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jan 25, 2011)

I just charge it every night, you can get a day easily. The only thing I have turned off is GPS. Everything else is on permanently.


----------



## Idaho (Jan 25, 2011)

As has been said. The battery life gets better with a few charges and discharges. Wi-fi really canes the battery, as does a bright screen and the GPS.


----------



## Herbsman. (Jan 26, 2011)

My battery life has almost doubled since I turned the screen brightness down to minimum. TBH anything brighter is too bright for me anyway...


----------



## Barking_Mad (Jan 26, 2011)

editor said:


> You should get a decent enough battery life out of it - the Desire has one of the better battery lives of all smartpohnes (equal to the iPhone 4) so have you turned off all the auto updating stuff you don't need?


 
Yup, i have the widget to control things on, ive turned everything off that doesn't need to be but it's still poor. I daren't turn the GPS on!

Im perhaps spoilt and maybe expecting too much as my previous phone was a Nokia E71 and that only had a small screen and the battery lasted for a couple of days.

The most annoying thing is how much battery is uses when it's in standby mode!


----------



## Barking_Mad (Jan 26, 2011)

Herbsman. said:


> My battery life has almost doubled since I turned the screen brightness down to minimum. TBH anything brighter is too bright for me anyway...


 
Yeah, that's fine inside, but in decent light outside i find you cant see it.


----------



## Barking_Mad (Jan 26, 2011)

Retro Camera is a really nice little app


----------



## editor (Jan 26, 2011)

Barking_Mad said:


> Yup, i have the widget to control things on, ive turned everything off that doesn't need to be but it's still poor. I daren't turn the GPS on!
> 
> Im perhaps spoilt and maybe expecting too much as my previous phone was a Nokia E71 and that only had a small screen and the battery lasted for a couple of days.
> 
> The most annoying thing is how much battery is uses when it's in standby mode!


Putting it in airplane mode is a great way to save battery if you're not using it for a while.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jan 26, 2011)

Barking_Mad said:


> Retro Camera is a really nice little app


 
Have you tried Vignette? It's the best camera app on any phone IMO.


----------



## Barking_Mad (Jan 26, 2011)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Have you tried Vignette? It's the best camera app on any phone IMO.


 
yes, it's got some lovely effects, just a bit of a shame the front end is a a little unattractive.


----------



## Barking_Mad (Jan 26, 2011)

If i install one of the launchers are they going to rob me of much more of my battery?


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 26, 2011)

editor said:


> Putting it in airplane mode is a great way to save battery if you're not using it for a while.


 Juice Defender achieves a similar affect by turning data connection off when the screen is off, then you don't have to worry about missing calls and texts.


----------



## Herbsman. (Jan 26, 2011)

Barking_Mad said:


> Yeah, that's fine inside, but in decent light outside i find you cant see it.


 I know it might be a bit hard to see in direct sunlight but mine is bright enough on an overcast or cloudy day... there haven't been any days that I can remember that I've struggled to see it outdoors. Can just touch the power control widget if it's not bright enough.


----------



## editor (Jan 27, 2011)

Checkmark Calendar is by miles the best calendar I've found so far for Android - and believe me, I've tried more than a few.

At last - a decent 2 week view!












http://calendar.greenbeansoft.com/


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 27, 2011)

Big up to the Ed for the swiftkey recommendation, hated it to start wtih and its still annoys me sometimes but I can see a lot of potential. 

One thing that proper fucks me of about my desire hd though is the battery case. You give you're device a massive advantage over the iphone, then make it stupidly hard to change the battery and get the cover on and off.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 27, 2011)

editor said:


> Checkmark Calendar is by miles the best calendar I've found so far for Android - and believe me, I've tried more than a few.
> 
> At last - a decent 2 week view!
> 
> ...



Does it play nice with gmail and outlook?


----------



## Redeyes (Jan 27, 2011)

editor said:


> Checkmark Calendar is by miles the best calendar I've found so far for Android - and believe me, I've tried more than a few.
> 
> At last - a decent 2 week view!



I coughed up for CalenGoo in the end. Syncs my Gmail calender and tasks like a charm, searchable too. Can swipe through everything to get to the next day, week etc. No scrollable agenda widget yet though.

I think it's dead good and I'm happy with it, it was a bit dear but I use it day in day out so it at least gets used.


























http://android.calengoo.com/


----------



## editor (Jan 27, 2011)

G_S said:


> Does it play nice with gmail and outlook?


No idea about Outlook but it does all the invite stuff via GMail just fine.

I bought Calengoo but found Checkmark _much_ faster and with a better 14/10 day view.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 27, 2011)

editor said:


> No idea about Outlook but it does all the invite stuff via GMail just fine.
> 
> I bought Calengoo but found Checkmark _much_ faster and with a better 14/10 day view.


 
You can download Google Calendar Sync to get your Outlook appointments on your Google calendar, it's what I do for my work PC so I can get meetings on my personal phone.


----------



## rubbershoes (Jan 27, 2011)

does the desire work with proper push mail from an exchange ? work's trying to push us onto shitty blackberries .i know they are spot on with all the work stuff like email push and outlook sync but they're a bit outdated as phones.   so how does a desire stand up to blackberries for work activities.


----------



## Paulie Tandoori (Jan 28, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> You can download Google Calendar Sync to get your Outlook appointments on your Google calendar, it's what I do for my work PC so I can get meetings on my personal phone.


Can you do this without mixing up the contacts? I have people on work Outlook, who I want to keep completely separate from my personal phone contacts. The option it appears to give me seems to indicate that both calendar and contacts are going to be synched, or combined, and I really don't want to do that.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 28, 2011)

It doesn't sync my outlook contacts, just my diary. Not sure if that was an option in set up or not.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 28, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> You can download Google Calendar Sync to get your Outlook appointments on your Google calendar, it's what I do for my work PC so I can get meetings on my personal phone.


 
Yes but its shit...half the time it doesn't sync and then it deleted half my appoitments.

Shame cos I was hoping for a perfect trilogy with my data backed up everywhere.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 28, 2011)

Really? Mine have always worked fine, never had a problem.


----------



## Idaho (Jan 28, 2011)

I tried calendars, but the electronic went the way of the manual. After a few weeks I can no longer be bothered to enter items, and then I give up entirely. Entirely a failing with the liveware.


----------



## Chz (Jan 28, 2011)

Yeah, I have the same problem. Only the really important stuff ever gets entered, and I'm likely to remember that anyhow. I've tried various organizers over the years - I even had a Newton once - but I'm useless at organizing a calendar.


----------



## hiccup (Jan 29, 2011)

Just got a Desire and it is lovely and I love it.

And now I can muck about installing custom ROMs on my old T-Mobile Pulse without fear of bricking my actual phone.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 29, 2011)

Does anybody elses get really really hot when running sat nav and music for hours on long car journeys?


----------



## cliche guevara (Jan 30, 2011)

Does anyone own the Desire Z? I'm considering buying one outright, can pick them up now for £340.


----------



## sumimasen (Mar 18, 2011)

Bump. 

Anyone know if widgets drain battery more?


----------



## joustmaster (Mar 18, 2011)

sumimasen said:


> Bump.
> 
> Anyone know if widgets drain battery more?


 
the ones that constantly go online do.


----------



## mauvais (Mar 18, 2011)

On a battery related note, you'll probably start to see improvements as network-enabled apps start to use push notifications over C2DM. I saw Facebook and eBuddy update to do this yesterday.


----------



## dogroughzine (Mar 20, 2011)

having a few minor problems with my desire HD, it seems to not be updating properly. i never get notifications of new emails from Gmail anymore and my calendar is slightly out of date unless i manually refresh it. also my location doesn't seem to update properly which makes weather forecasts etc inaccurate. it was set to leeds but i've been travelling between newcastle and leeds a lot recently and seems to be stuck on on the Newcastle setting, any ideas?


----------



## The Octagon (Mar 23, 2011)

One annoying thing about HTC is their seeming lack of decent peripherals / accessories.

It'd be great to have a charging / speaker dock for my Desire, but as far as I can tell they don't make them 

Why?


----------



## Big Gunz (Mar 23, 2011)

2 issues with my Desire:

1. SD Card problems, my first one kept displaying SD card error, eventually I had to replace it.  Occassionally with my new SD card in place it still flashes this warning up.  Still working atm but waiting for that to die on me again.

2. Phone dying for no reason, can't turn it back on for love or money and have to remove the battery to get it to reboot itself why?

Sorry if these things have been covered already.

Cheers


----------



## nuffsaid (Mar 23, 2011)

BigPhil said:


> Put the 'power control' default widget on your home screen.  Use this to turn off / on wi-fi, GPS, blue tooth, etc.



I can't see this on my Desire, what's it actually called and look like. I see no power related widgets at all. There's a Settings one, do you mean that?


----------



## Blagsta (Mar 24, 2011)

Where does the weather widget get its data from? It's telling me its foggy in Birmingham, yet its clear blue sky and sunshine outside.


----------



## Kizmet (Mar 24, 2011)

Two things about the desire....which is comfortably the best phone I have ever owned...

1) be aware of the text bug that can randomly wipe all your texts. annoying, but not often enough to be devastating. just do regular backups and it's fine.

2) You can get decent battery life if you calibrate the battery old school style.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 24, 2011)

Link from XDA about calibrating your battery.


----------



## editor (Mar 24, 2011)

Kizmet said:


> Two things about the desire....which is comfortably the best phone I have ever owned...
> 
> 1) be aware of the text bug that can randomly wipe all your texts. annoying, but not often enough to be devastating. just do regular backups and it's fine.


I've never had any of my texts disappear. What is this 'bug'?


----------



## fredfelt (Mar 24, 2011)

editor said:


> I've never had any of my texts disappear. What is this 'bug'?


 
Your text message history disappears.  No sign of a crash, no warning.  Just come back to your phone and all gone.  It happened to the missus - with a standard issue phone and the default message app.


----------



## fredfelt (Mar 24, 2011)

.


----------



## editor (Mar 24, 2011)

BigPhil said:


> Your text message history disappears.  No sign of a crash, no warning.  Just come back to your phone and all gone.  It happened to the missus - with a standard issue phone and the default message app.


Might that be network related? I've never heard of it (or anyone suffering from it until now).


----------



## Kizmet (Mar 24, 2011)

editor said:


> I've never had any of my texts disappear. What is this 'bug'?


 
I've had my phone about a year and it happened once about a month ago... so I looked it up. It's not an isolated incident, but no one seems to be sure why. Some suggest it's some sort of hidden storage limit. Dunno really.

Best be prepared, I reckon... backups are easy to schedule.

And anyway... too many texts on your phone slows performance.


----------



## Kizmet (Mar 24, 2011)

Global Stoner said:


> Link from XDA about calibrating your battery.


 
I do love xda.... am kizmet there too, but hardly go there nowadays apart from for the occasional Rom. New phones need much less tinkering.

This sounds complex, though.. my tip is:

Charge while on to full.
Disconnect and switch off.
Charge while off to full.
Disconnect switch on.
Charge to full.
Disconnect when full, don't leave it connected... it'll discharge again.

Once every few months and that should keep it tidy. Also, in use, try not to let it go under 10 percent if possible.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Mar 24, 2011)

I lost every single one of my texts two days ago...


----------



## Pingu (Mar 24, 2011)

anyone found a mail\caledar etc app that works with 64 bit outlook 2010 yet?


----------



## Merengue (Mar 26, 2011)

Im keen to get a Desire but the more I read about it, the more I'm put off.... I think!

Whats the general consensus regarding battery life? Is it like the iphone 3GS in terms of life or worse or does it usually last a day after a medium amount of use?


----------



## cliche guevara (Mar 26, 2011)

Merengue said:


> Im keen to get a Desire but the more I read about it, the more I'm put off.... I think!
> 
> Whats the general consensus regarding battery life? Is it like the iphone 3GS in terms of life or worse or does it usually last a day after a medium amount of use?


 
You'll easily get a day out of it, but two is a stretch, so you'll need to charge every night. The new HTC Incredible S apparently has a much better battery life.


----------



## Gromit (Mar 26, 2011)

Battery takes longer to charge than an iPhone. 

However carrying spare batteries us a blessing you don't have with the iPhone.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Mar 28, 2011)

Hmmm, strangeness with the time/date on my phone this morning - it had added an hour to the time (after already having done so as required for BST on Sunday morning) and decided it was still Sunday.

What's also odd is that a friend has said her iPhone did exactly the same thing...


----------



## Placid Casual27 (Mar 30, 2011)

Not a Desire but a Wildfire. Have had it 2 weeks and am a technophobe. 

Have only used it for Twitter (via Peep) but my twitter has not refreshed since 5pm yesteray is it something I have inadvertently done? How can I remedy? Thanks!


----------



## RaverDrew (Mar 30, 2011)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Hmmm, strangeness with the time/date on my phone this morning - it had added an hour to the time (after already having done so as required for BST on Sunday morning) and decided it was still Sunday.
> 
> What's also odd is that a friend has said her iPhone did exactly the same thing...


 
My San Fran done something similar the other night too


----------



## cliche guevara (Mar 30, 2011)

Placid Casual27 said:


> Not a Desire but a Wildfire. Have had it 2 weeks and am a technophobe.
> 
> Have only used it for Twitter (via Peep) but my twitter has not refreshed since 5pm yesteray is it something I have inadvertently done? How can I remedy? Thanks!


 
Have you checked the auto update settings? Press menu from the main screen of the app.

Worth checking out other Twitter apps. I personally use the official one, it has a feature which allows you to pull down the screen to refresh, which is handy. The widget isn't as good as Peep though.


----------



## Placid Casual27 (Mar 30, 2011)

Thanks Cliche. That doesn't seem to help though. When I press menu from the main screen of the app I get the options Refresh, New Tweet, New Messge, Update Location, My Profile and More...which leads to Settings, In that Settings section there are Accout Settings, General Settings, Sens and Receive, Services, and notification Settings

In none of those can I find an auto update - in Send and Recieve, Update on launch is ticked, update schedule is every 1 hour and it set to dowload the last 50 tweets

So I am stumped. Any further ideas? Sorry to be such a saddo!


----------



## editor (Mar 30, 2011)

TweetDeck is ace: it lets you get all your Twitter/Facebook feeds on one page and you can set individual refresh times for each one.


----------



## Citizen66 (Mar 30, 2011)

Does anyone know why Acrobat is a bit crap on my phone?

I've got a couple of gaming manuals I need to wade through (around 20Mb in size) and Acrobat forces a close sometimes and when it is working is really laggy.

Is it down to the phone processor not being able to deal with this kind of stuff or are there better pdf readers for the Android on the market that will work better?


----------



## cliche guevara (Mar 30, 2011)

Acrobat is crap on my phone too. There are better PDF readers, but none which eliminate lag entirely. I've given up with PDFs on my phone tbh.


----------



## Citizen66 (Mar 30, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> Acrobat is crap on my phone too. There are better PDF readers, but none which eliminate lag entirely. I've given up with PDFs on my phone tbh.



It's just because it's handy to read them on the tube on the way to work - I really ought to buy a Kindle, but money commitments etc.


----------



## mrs quoad (Mar 31, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> You'll easily get a day out of it, but two is a stretch, so you'll need to charge every night. The new HTC Incredible S apparently has a much better battery life.


 
I got a spare battery for my Desire because it wasn't lasting 'til the end of the day. On - admittedly - relatively heavy usage, whilst on fieldwork. But I was routinely getting up at 8, and the phone was dying by 3 or 4 o'clock (at the outside). 

Both batteries (the original and the spare) do this, btw.

The only way to get a day of heavy usage out of mine is with making damned sure that mobile network is off for every single minute I'm not using it, and never using GPS. And even then, it'll be dead by early- to mid-afternoon.


----------



## Citizen66 (Mar 31, 2011)

I just carry a charger around with me.


----------



## The Octagon (Mar 31, 2011)

Citizen66 said:


> I just carry a charger around with me.


 
Ditto, USB cable portion of the charger anyway.

Any ideas when 2.3 is likely to come to an Unbranded Desire? I got 2.2 pretty early, not seen anything regarding 2.3 in my updates though.


----------



## editor (Mar 31, 2011)

If you're a heavy user, one of these can be handy as well: http://www.wirefresh.com/veho-pebble-5000mah-portable-battery-pack-charger-review/


----------



## RaverDrew (Mar 31, 2011)

The Octagon said:


> Ditto, USB cable portion of the charger anyway.
> 
> Any ideas when 2.3 is likely to come to an Unbranded Desire? I got 2.2 pretty early, not seen anything regarding 2.3 in my updates though.


 
http://www.cyanogenmod.com/


----------



## The Octagon (Mar 31, 2011)

RaverDrew said:


> http://www.cyanogenmod.com/


 
What's that? 

An unofficial version?


----------



## RaverDrew (Mar 31, 2011)

The Octagon said:


> What's that?
> 
> An unofficial version?



Cyanogenmod 7 RC4 (there's a final build due in the next week or two but this one is stable enough for everyday use)

It's a custom built ROM based on gingerbread 2.3

You need to be rooted to install. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=HTC_Desire_(GSM):_Full_Update_Guide


----------



## quimcunx (Apr 1, 2011)

Is there an app to let you record your phone conversations?


----------



## RaverDrew (Apr 1, 2011)

http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/th...iller-apps?p=11631592&viewfull=1#post11631592

ovaltina recommended total recall the other day.

There's a lot of settings to play with. I've only had a quick go and haven't managed to get it to record both sides of the conversation at the same time yet without having to have the speakerphone on for the call, but it still works better than any other app that I've tried. The way it automatically records every call and gives you a "save or discard" option when you hang up is pretty cool.  PM me if you'd like an "evaluation" copy, just to check that it definitely works with your desire before purchasing of course.


----------



## twentythreedom (Apr 4, 2011)

Aaahh fuckbuckets. My Desire HD has got a small patch at the bottom of the screen that looks darker than the rest of it, and I'm really pissed off about it. Some kind of damage... is this a known problem? anyone else had screen problems / damage?


----------



## The Octagon (Apr 4, 2011)

RaverDrew said:


> Cyanogenmod 7 RC4 (there's a final build due in the next week or two but this one is stable enough for everyday use)
> 
> It's a custom built ROM based on gingerbread 2.3
> 
> You need to be rooted to install. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=HTC_Desire_(GSM):_Full_Update_Guide


 
Ah, not rooted at the mo, haven't had time to sit down and work it out. Is it a good idea if you're not massively phone tech savvy?


----------



## Kizmet (Apr 4, 2011)

Only worth it if you want to install new Rom or do full system backups. Neither are as important as they used to be.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Apr 7, 2011)

Someone I know has got one on Orange and apparently it's installed with all kinds of shit they don't want. Is there any easy way of getting rid of them without being too techy (this person is no geek)?


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Apr 8, 2011)

i'm planning to root my desire over the weekend using the Unrevoked method. there's a video tutorial here, but some of the comments need reading first, especially those by Bloozntooz. sounds like things have changed a little since the vid was posted.

i wouldn't attempt it if i was a complete non-techy but it doesn't sound too bad

anyone else tried Unrevoked? assuming i don't brick it i'll let you know how it goes.


----------



## mauvais (Apr 11, 2011)

I did mine a month or so ago, it's all fine.

Oh, I had to use some older version of Unrevoked as the new one didn't work. I rooted two and the latest Unrevoked (at the time) only worked on the one that didn't have the latest firmware update.


----------



## fractionMan (Apr 11, 2011)

Does anyone know how to get *line out level sound* from a desire?

(as opposed to headphone level)


----------



## editor (Apr 11, 2011)

What do you need it for?


----------



## fractionMan (Apr 11, 2011)

editor said:


> What do you need it for?


 
Plugging it into powered speakers.  You get a much louder output from line level, plus you lose less volume if you split it.

There's an adaptor for the iPod/iPhone that does it, just wondering if there's an app/adaptor for the desire/android.


----------



## editor (Apr 11, 2011)

fractionMan said:


> Plugging it into powered speakers.  You get a much louder output from line level, plus you lose less volume if you split it.
> 
> There's an adaptor for the iPod/iPhone that does it, just wondering if there's an app/adaptor for the desire/android.


I've used these external speakers on my Desire and they're plenty loud!

http://www.wirefresh.com/xmi-x-mini-ii-capsule-mini-speaker-impresses-with-a-big-sound/


----------



## fractionMan (Apr 11, 2011)

Yeah, I get that.  But I'm after the HTC equivalent of this:







http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-L1-Line-...2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1302522793&sr=1-2

for powering this:






Line level vs headphone level results in a fair few extra dB output.


----------



## mauvais (Apr 11, 2011)

I don't think there is anything. You're certainly not going to get analogue audio over USB, which is I guess what the iPod does - no room for anything more complicated in the thing pictured. The iPod has a proprietary interface so can afford to do that.

Why not just use a headphone amp?


----------



## fractionMan (Apr 11, 2011)

Because then I'd have to power two amps and I might as well just use one bigger amp (or an amp with gain controls)


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Apr 11, 2011)

where do you plug the kid in?


----------



## mauvais (Apr 15, 2011)

I've now:

* rooted it with unrevoked
* made it S-OFF with AlphaRev
* deleted a few unused HTC apps
* replaced all the read-only original apps in /system with their newer downloaded versions
* got Titanium Backup
* forced older apps to the SD card

Wasn't trivial but now I've got loads of free space.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Apr 15, 2011)

i haven't got round to rooting mine yet, might give it a go tonight. everything you've listed is pretty much what i want to do, but i'd be happy to just get through the unrevoked and backup bit for now.

how un-trivial was it? did you use any guides?


----------



## Redeyes (Apr 15, 2011)

Elvis Parsley said:


> how un-trivial was it? did you use any guides?



Wouldn't mind knowing the answers to these two myself. I've a year left on my Desire contract and I'm getting a bit fed up with having mess around doing 'house keeping' with the memory to avoid getting the 'MEMORY LOW, Free up some space' warning...


----------



## Badgers (Apr 15, 2011)

I may have come over from Apple

Hi


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Apr 15, 2011)

Redeyes said:


> Wouldn't mind knowing the answers to these two myself. I've a year left on my Desire contract and I'm getting a bit fed up with having mess around doing 'house keeping' with the memory to avoid getting the 'MEMORY LOW, Free up some space' warning...


 
yep my main reason for wanting to root too. was ok before 2.2, but when i updated to froyo, t-mobile stuck a load of useless german apps in with it, and of course you can't uninstall any of them. gits


----------



## wtfftw (Apr 16, 2011)

Badgers said:


> I may have come over from Apple
> 
> Hi


 
Welcome.


----------



## Hocus Eye. (Apr 16, 2011)

Redeyes said:


> Wouldn't mind knowing the answers to these two myself. I've a year left on my Desire contract and I'm getting a bit fed up with having mess around doing 'house keeping' with the memory to avoid getting the 'MEMORY LOW, Free up some space' warning...


Relaxez vous.

I get this message quite often. However having downloaded Apps2sd app and run it a few times I only get the message when the automated regular updates of apps happens. Usually after a while the message stops happening because presumably the memory used for the download is freed up when the app is automatically re-installed. I have a lot of apps and this takes a long time. Recently though I had to re- run Apps2sd for one app whose name I have forgotten in the last 5 minutes.


----------



## mauvais (Apr 16, 2011)

Elvis Parsley said:


> i haven't got round to rooting mine yet, might give it a go tonight. everything you've listed is pretty much what i want to do, but i'd be happy to just get through the unrevoked and backup bit for now.
> 
> how un-trivial was it? did you use any guides?


Unrevoked is the easiest bit, it's nicely written software. Just plug it in and fire it up. Might need the older version like I said.

I think that gives you ClockworkMod as the bootloader automatically, which you can get into by holding down Vol- as you press Power (and then maybe bit of menu navigation). From there you can back everything up to the SD card - in the pic below it appears as Nandroid, but I had it as 'backup/restore'.






The other stuff in my list is more complicated - e.g. for removing apps then in general you ought to be a bit geeky and at least comfortable with Linux.

The day after I posted that, I went a few steps further and:

* repartitioned with a custom MTD (232MB in /system, 20MB in /cache and the rest in /data) 
* installed ADW.Launcher

You can lose a lot of HTC shit - e.g. I never use widgets which are about 1MB each, the HTC keyboard (I use SwiftKey) is 7MB, etc etc. - I was up from ~18MB to at least 70MB at one point. Installed a lot of stuff since then so not sure of the exact net gain.


----------



## newbie (Apr 16, 2011)

fractionMan said:


> Plugging it into powered speakers.  You get a much louder output from line level, plus you lose less volume if you split it.
> 
> There's an adaptor for the iPod/iPhone that does it, just wondering if there's an app/adaptor for the desire/android.


 


> Line level vs headphone level results in a fair few extra dB output.



I'm not sure I follow you.  By and large when turned to maximum a headphone output will provide more power than a line level output (which is usually fixed level).  The headphone output is designed to efficiently drive a low impedance (eg 32ohm) load, but that isn't really a problem for driving a line level input with impedance in excess of 1kohm or so (more likely 10k or higher).  

So generally when using a headphone level source with a line input the result is the opposite of what you're saying, ie the source is too powerful and overloads the input, so the sound is distorted.  Turning the level down corrects this (up to a point, although it's not even across the frequency range). 

splitting the headphone output signal between two inputs won't be as good as a line level source, I don't think, but why would you want to do that for your suitcase?


----------



## Dan U (May 3, 2011)

figured this is the best place to put this.

my HTC Desire will no longer connect to my home Wi Fi. it searches and finds my BT Broadband router, correctly identifies it, tries to connect, says it is connected and then disconnects and tries to connect to BT Open Zone.

I have tried removing this router completely from the phone and reinstalling it by hitting the 'forget' option
my other wireless devices are working fine with this router
i used my phone abroad on someones wifi just prior to this problem but with no issues (have 'forgotten' that network too)

anyone got any advice or know where i could find some? am i missing some techy thing?

thanks


----------



## editor (May 3, 2011)

Gotta be your router settings. Have you rebooted your router?


----------



## Dan U (May 3, 2011)

yep, i've given that a go, to no avail.


----------



## King Biscuit Time (May 3, 2011)

I've had my desire in for repair at HTC for* 28 days and counting *. Admittedly there have been 12 non-working days in there, but the status on the totally crap repair status checker still tells me 'We are repairing your phone'. Gee, thanks. Reckon I could have it back before the end of the year?


----------



## Dan U (May 3, 2011)

Oh blimey!

What shits me is it has been completely reliable


----------



## editor (May 3, 2011)

King Biscuit Time said:


> I've had my desire in for repair at HTC for* 28 days and counting *. Admittedly there have been 12 non-working days in there, but the status on the totally crap repair status checker still tells me 'We are repairing your phone'. Gee, thanks. Reckon I could have it back before the end of the year?


Who's got it? I'd start really kicking off after that amount of time.


----------



## fractionMan (May 3, 2011)

newbie said:


> I'm not sure I follow you.  By and large when turned to maximum a headphone output will provide more power than a line level output (which is usually fixed level).  The headphone output is designed to efficiently drive a low impedance (eg 32ohm) load, but that isn't really a problem for driving a line level input with impedance in excess of 1kohm or so (more likely 10k or higher).
> 
> So generally when using a headphone level source with a line input the result is the opposite of what you're saying, ie the source is too powerful and overloads the input, so the sound is distorted.  Turning the level down corrects this (up to a point, although it's not even across the frequency range).
> 
> splitting the headphone output signal between two inputs won't be as good as a line level source, I don't think, but why would you want to do that for your suitcase?



Really?  My experience is that amps go louder with line level inputs (which is not fixed volume when coming from a laptop, mixer etc) than headphone/phone.  This has been bourne out with many amps and many sources.   I've tried devices (such as a tonium pacemaker) with both outputs and the line is markedly louder.  Laptop outputs are louder than phones too.

You seem to know loads more about the detail but I don't understand what I'm seeing tbh.


----------



## King Biscuit Time (May 3, 2011)

editor said:


> Who's got it? I'd start really kicking off after that amount of time.


 
HTC repair centre. And yes, I really should start kicking off.


----------



## dogroughzine (May 5, 2011)

ive just got mine back after sending it for repair (wasnt happy with how it was charging, kept cutting out etc), and i'm more lost than ever! when i first got the phone it was all new so i enjoyed playing around and finding what works for me, now im just frustrating myself trying to get it back to how it was. i know my memory is to blame also but i just cant seem to get it back to how i had it before. is there no sort of notepad app as standard? im backed some up to my SD card but am totally lost


----------



## editor (May 5, 2011)

dogroughzine said:


> ive just got mine back after sending it for repair (wasnt happy with how it was charging, kept cutting out etc), and i'm more lost than ever! when i first got the phone it was all new so i enjoyed playing around and finding what works for me, now im just frustrating myself trying to get it back to how it was. i know my memory is to blame also but i just cant seem to get it back to how i had it before. is there no sort of notepad app as standard? im backed some up to my SD card but am totally lost


Why not peruse the Android store? 

https://market.android.com/search?q=notes&so=1&c=apps


----------



## dogroughzine (May 5, 2011)

yeah i know there are loads of options i was just asking if there was ever a note app as standard, cos i don't recall browsing for one last time


----------



## editor (May 5, 2011)

There is no built in note taking application, but there's loads of excellent free ones available. Springpad is good, although I like the simplicity of Flick Note.


----------



## baffled (May 7, 2011)

fractionMan said:


> Really?  My experience is that amps go louder with line level inputs (which is not fixed volume when coming from a laptop, mixer etc) than headphone/phone.  This has been bourne out with many amps and many sources.   I've tried devices (such as a tonium pacemaker) with both outputs and the line is markedly louder.  Laptop outputs are louder than phones too.
> 
> You seem to know loads more about the detail but I don't understand what I'm seeing tbh.



I run a line level to headphone amp on an ipod touch and find the same, I can push the volume much further without distortion than I can from the headphone output.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (May 7, 2011)

editor said:


> There is no built in note taking application, but there's loads of excellent free ones available. Springpad is good, although I like the simplicity of Flick Note.


 
Springpad is a nice find, like Evernote but with some cooler features.


----------



## newbie (May 7, 2011)

fractionMan said:


> Really?  My experience is that amps go louder with line level inputs (which is not fixed volume when coming from a laptop, mixer etc) than headphone/phone.  This has been bourne out with many amps and many sources.   I've tried devices (such as a tonium pacemaker) with both outputs and the line is markedly louder.  Laptop outputs are louder than phones too.
> 
> You seem to know loads more about the detail but I don't understand what I'm seeing tbh.


 
Maybe.  I have a fair grasp of how audio works but not of every bit of kit out there.  What's meant by 'line level' is far from standardised, and most kit doesn't bother with proper specs (for example, your tonium pacemaker gives no clues as to the relative levels of its outputs).  

I'd also forgotten that headphone outputs are limited by law. That's not true of devices with variable line outputs (particularly mixers with outputs up to +20dB or so).

There's plenty of scope for discussing what and why, but I think fundamentally you want a preamp for your phone to act an an input for an amplifier.  Have a look at this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-E5-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B0026RJQJ6

It's cheap and will probably do what you need, with a bit of mucking about for powering it.  What amplifier are you using?


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (May 7, 2011)

newbie said:


> What's meant by 'line level' is far from standardised


 
Errrrrrrr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level


----------



## newbie (May 8, 2011)

oh come off it, you know as well as I do that there's an enormous range of different 'line levels'.  Allowing for 8dB headroom the BBC like 0dBu, EBU reckon +4dBu and consumer equipment uses anything they feel like, mostly in the range from maybe -6 to -10, but not always. Meanwhile the variable output of a mixer goes up to +20something, almost enough to fry eggs.  

If it really was standardised you could shove any line output into any line input without problem, and we both know that's just not the case.


----------



## Badgers (May 8, 2011)

My Desire HD arrived and is charging as I type. It is a lovely thing in terms of build and feel, less fragile than the iPhone I am posting on now. 

Going to pool on this thread a lot for advice as never used an HTC before. Been on the iPhone for a couple of years now so starting afresh. 

Hardware shopping list in priority order: 

Case and screen guard
Headphones 
Another charger or USB cable
Spare battery 

Anything else?


----------



## newbie (May 8, 2011)

I bought a desk cradle with a charging slot for the spare battery.  I quite like having the phone in a cradle and knowing where the spare is and that it's charged.


----------



## Badgers (May 8, 2011)

newbie said:


> I bought a desk cradle with a charging slot for the spare battery.  I quite like having the phone in a cradle and knowing where the spare is and that it's charged.


 
Ooooh sounds good. 
Got a link for it?


----------



## editor (May 8, 2011)

Badgers said:


> Ooooh sounds good.
> Got a link for it?


Review and link here: http://www.wirefresh.com/htc-desire-usb-desk-cradle-and-second-battery-charger-review/


----------



## Badgers (May 8, 2011)

Cheers.

Playing only, but it is a lovely thing in every respect so far. Camera especially.


----------



## TopCat (May 8, 2011)

Gloworm just got a new one as an upgrade and it's sealed in the box and is up for grabs if anyone wants to buy it or play swoppsies.


----------



## newbie (May 8, 2011)

Badgers said:


> Ooooh sounds good.
> Got a link for it?


 
this cradle
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250782002410

this battery
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004DNLME8/ref=oss_product

don't ask why they're from different sources, 'twas all very silly.


----------



## Gromit (May 8, 2011)

I'm considering buying 2 more batteries for Glastonbury instead of worrying about recharge centres. 

Or is owning 4 batteries overkill?


----------



## Badgers (May 9, 2011)

Cheers for the links guys. I was going to go for the Otterbox case too: 

Otterbox Commuter Case - £21.25
or 
OtterBox HTC Desire HD Defender Case - £25.63

Only irritation is that the headphone socket seems to be on the wrong place


----------



## editor (May 9, 2011)

Gromit said:


> I'm considering buying 2 more batteries for Glastonbury instead of worrying about recharge centres.
> 
> Or is owning 4 batteries overkill?


I use two spare batteries for carrying around and a beefy Pebble charger for the tent.


----------



## fractionMan (May 9, 2011)

Gromit said:


> I'm considering buying 2 more batteries for Glastonbury instead of worrying about recharge centres.
> 
> Or is owning 4 batteries overkill?


 
Or you could get a powermonkey type gadget.


----------



## fractionMan (May 9, 2011)

Personally I'll be having some lead acids and a car charger


----------



## Gromit (May 9, 2011)

editor said:


> I use two spare batteries for carrying around and a beefy Pebble charger for the tent.



For the price on one of them I can get 3 spares and have change. 

Nearly as much battery power with the advantage of not having to wait for it to transfer across from charger to phone.


----------



## editor (May 9, 2011)

Gromit said:


> For the price on one of them I can get 3 spares and have change.
> 
> Nearly as much battery power with the advantage of not having to wait for it to transfer across from charger to phone.


I always plug it in when I crash out in my tent.


----------



## fredfelt (May 9, 2011)

With this charger you can charge your phone from AA batteries.  Much cheaper and more flexible than the other options

http://www.batteryvault.co.uk/extreme-500-dual-aaaaa-battery--gadget-charger-199-p.asp


----------



## Badgers (May 11, 2011)

Taking some getting used to but have not had much time. I am really liking it so far, need to fine tune it and organise some music/stuff but getting there.

Got to import contacts. Easy to do from Gmail?


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (May 11, 2011)

Badgers said:
			
		

> Got to import contacts. Easy to do from Gmail?



They should already be there iirc.


----------



## hiccup (May 11, 2011)

Quick SD card question: I want to put a bigger SD card in my Desire. If I buy one, and copy everything that's on my old one onto the new one, then put the new one in my phone, will that work? Will all my apps on the SD card still work OK?


----------



## fractionMan (May 11, 2011)

On a related note, how do I back up my contacts.


----------



## editor (May 11, 2011)

hiccup said:


> Quick SD card question: I want to put a bigger SD card in my Desire. If I buy one, and copy everything that's on my old one onto the new one, then put the new one in my phone, will that work? Will all my apps on the SD card still work OK?


Should do!


----------



## Badgers (May 11, 2011)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> They should already be there iirc.


 
Yup, it seems to have sorted itself out now.


----------



## editor (May 11, 2011)

fractionMan said:


> On a related note, how do I back up my contacts.


They're automatically backed up into the cloud (Google Contacts).


----------



## hiccup (May 11, 2011)

editor said:


> They're automatically backed up into the cloud (Google Contacts).


 
And you can export from Google contacts, as csv or vCard.


----------



## fractionMan (May 11, 2011)

editor said:


> They're automatically backed up into the cloud (Google Contacts).


 
That's what I thought, but I just checked and they're not there.


----------



## hiccup (May 11, 2011)

fractionMan said:


> That's what I thought, but I just checked and they're not there.


 
In settings, under Accounts and sync, is auto-sync selected?


----------



## fractionMan (May 11, 2011)

hiccup said:


> In settings, under Accounts and sync, is auto-sync selected?


 
yup.  And it says it did it a couple of days ago.


----------



## hiccup (May 11, 2011)

Hmmm, dunno then.


----------



## TruXta (May 11, 2011)

So, I can finally upgrade my shitty T-mobile Pulse to something much much better. Currently drooling over a Desire/Desire S. What's the difference really? Is it just a bigger screen or are the specs better on the S?


----------



## Badgers (May 12, 2011)

Am getting there now. It is much more involved than setting up an iPhone but more satisfying. Need to sort music/etc out so will look at the Google beta media player.


----------



## sumimasen (May 12, 2011)

How do I backup/view my text messages onto my PC.

I use Chompsms if that makes a difference.


----------



## sumimasen (May 14, 2011)

Nevermind. My Backup Pro is the answer. Well worth the £3.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (May 23, 2011)

Had 2.3 via T-Mobile for my HD last week. So far the only changes I've noticed is the scrolling down the apps screen and an extra tab on the screen you get when you swipe down.


----------



## quimcunx (Jun 5, 2011)

How can I download angry birds and anything else I might have on my phone rather than my memory card or sim to my laptop?

My HTC needs to be repaired and will be wiped, apparently.


----------



## editor (Jun 5, 2011)

quimcunx said:


> How can I download angry birds and anything else I might have on my phone rather than my memory card or sim to my laptop?
> 
> My HTC needs to be repaired and will be wiped, apparently.


You can just download it all again - the only things you'll lose (if you haven't backed up) is text messages and app prefs.


----------



## quimcunx (Jun 5, 2011)

I  know I can. Not with my scores saved, though.


----------



## editor (Jun 5, 2011)

quimcunx said:


> I  know I can. Not with my scores saved, though.


I'm afraid I don't understand your question then.


----------



## quimcunx (Jun 5, 2011)

I took it into the shop and she said it would be wiped so to go home and save anything I want saved on to my laptop using my USB cable.  But, having got home and plugged it in using my USB cable,  I don't know how to save things I have on my phone, as opposed to on my memory card or sim.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 5, 2011)

quimcunx said:


> I took it into the shop and she said it would be wiped so to go home and save anything I want saved on to my laptop using my USB cable.  But, having got home and plugged it in using my USB cable,  I don't know how to save things I have on my phone, as opposed to on my memory card or sim.


 
There apps that will do most of this, but don't know if they go as far as saving your game scores.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jun 5, 2011)

quimcunx said:


> I  know I can. Not with my scores saved, though.


 
Is that really so important?


----------



## quimcunx (Jun 5, 2011)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Is that really so important?


 
Have you ANY idea how much work I've put into them?  I haven't finished yet.


----------



## quimcunx (Jun 6, 2011)

editor said:


> You can just download it all again - the only things you'll lose *(if you haven't backed u*p) is text messages and app prefs.



So how do I do that?


----------



## quimcunx (Jun 6, 2011)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Is that really so important?


 
Oh, and if asked I will vehemently deny this but the borkage did occur after I fell asleep in the bath playing angry birds, if that answers your question on importance....


----------



## RaverDrew (Jun 6, 2011)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=820725


----------



## quimcunx (Jun 6, 2011)

Cheers.    Um, but what do I actually do?  sorry, I'm thick about these things.  I'm not 'into' HTC desire. I just have one.  Do I download titanium onto my laptop then sync my desire or what? 

And texts?


----------



## RaverDrew (Jun 6, 2011)

Will your desire switch on atm ?


----------



## quimcunx (Jun 6, 2011)

Yes.  It's the on switch which is borked.  To use it I have to plug in or unplug the usb or take the battery out and put it back in again.  It works fine once you have it fired up.


----------



## RaverDrew (Jun 6, 2011)

If you're rooted then titanium will do it quick and easily.


----------



## quimcunx (Jun 6, 2011)

*cries*  what does rooted even mean? 

I'd like to point out that I got this phone because urban told me to.


----------



## joustmaster (Jun 6, 2011)

I can't believe how so many people don't understand how traumatic losing angrybird scores would be.


----------



## hiccup (Jun 6, 2011)

I had to wipe my phone last night and lost all my Angry Birds scores. I was so close to the end too. Proper traumatic.


----------



## cliche guevara (Jun 6, 2011)

Ah, so it's Angry birds scores you're after saving.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mimminito.angrybirdssync&feature=search_result

No need to thank me.


----------



## hiccup (Jun 6, 2011)

WELL IT'S A BIT LATE NOW


----------



## fogbat (Jun 6, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> Ah, so it's Angry birds scores you're after saving.
> 
> https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mimminito.angrybirdssync&feature=search_result
> 
> No need to thank me.



I could have done with this a couple of factory resets ago


----------



## editor (Jun 14, 2011)

Bah! No Gingerbread update for HTC Desire users (without rooting).
http://www.wirefresh.com/htc-desire-users-fail-to-feel-the-gingerbread-love/


----------



## joustmaster (Jun 14, 2011)

editor said:


> Bah! No Gingerbread update for HTC Desire users (without rooting).
> http://www.wirefresh.com/htc-desire-users-fail-to-feel-the-gingerbread-love/


i still don't know what possessed them to use such a small amount of memory


----------



## dweller (Jun 15, 2011)

My Tip for your ageing desire or compatible android phone.
root your desire and stick the latest MIUI rom in.
It does look a bit iphony, and doesnt have an appp drawer. You have to put your apps into folders, 
 but apart from that it is android through and through.
Takes up a tiny amount of system space compared to any htc sense roms, 
300mb for latest Sense rom vs 76mb for miui
it is very memory efficient so your running programmes will open and close very slickly
so many neat touches designed into the interface
check the video to get a feel for it, 
all design themes for it are free and many of the latest look really great and are easily applied 
using the built in theme manager
of course you have to root your phone to have it
 but there are rumours that a phone manufacturer is thinking of putting MIUI on its phones as a stock rom, 
This doesn't suprise me at all, it is that good!
Worth a try if you have root. It is a kind of love hate thing and I love it.
Official website


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 15, 2011)

Anyone else with an HD noticeing the browser crashing since the update to 2.3? Browsing quite a lot at the moment and seems to happening about once a day.


----------



## Beanburger (Jun 15, 2011)

Global Stoner said:


> Anyone else with an HD noticeing the browser crashing since the update to 2.3? Browsing quite a lot at the moment and seems to happening about once a day.


Have you tried a different browser? I'd recommend Dolphin HD, which is in a whole different league to the stock browser.


----------



## Callum91 (Jun 15, 2011)

Beanburger said:


> Have you tried a different browser? I'd recommend Dolphin HD, which is in a whole different league to the stock browser.


 
I've been running Dolphin HD on my Desire now for a few months. I'd never go back to the stock HTC browser again.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 15, 2011)

Not tried dolphin, but tried a few others, but tbh I can't find anything wrong with the stock browser. Except now it crashes when it didn't before.


----------



## wtfftw (Jun 15, 2011)

editor said:


> Bah! No Gingerbread update for HTC Desire users (without rooting).
> http://www.wirefresh.com/htc-desire-users-fail-to-feel-the-gingerbread-love/


 Changed their minds apparently.
"Contrary to what we said earlier, we are going to bring Gingerbread to HTC Desire."


I'm working up to rooting anyway as even with apps2sd I still keep running too low on space.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 15, 2011)

There is hardly any difference between 2.2 and 2.3 anyway.


----------



## Idaho (Jun 15, 2011)

I am finding that music, etc keeps skipping tracks on my Desire. Tends to happen when I am out running or walking to work. Very annoying. Skipping back and forwards a few times manually seems to fix it, but it still occurs.


----------



## wtfftw (Jun 15, 2011)

I can't work out what is going on with my ringtone. It's meant to be a section of a particular tune but actually seems to be picking any old tune at random but only from a certain genre.... :shrug:


----------



## editor (Jun 15, 2011)

Idaho said:


> I am finding that music, etc keeps skipping tracks on my Desire. Tends to happen when I am out running or walking to work. Very annoying. Skipping back and forwards a few times manually seems to fix it, but it still occurs.


Has your headphones got a built in controller? It sounds like you're brushing a control somewhere,


----------



## Chz (Jun 15, 2011)

I'm waiting for something more official than a Facebook update from HTC. I like Sense, but other than the Friendstream I'm not particularly wedded to it. If they've totally canned it then it's time to back stuff up and root the sucker.


----------



## Beanburger (Jun 15, 2011)

Chz said:


> I'm waiting for something more official than a Facebook update from HTC. I like Sense, but other than the Friendstream I'm not particularly wedded to it. If they've totally canned it then it's time to back stuff up and root the sucker.


Pretty much sums up my view - except I like the Sense address book and social networking integration. Oh, and the weather animations.


----------



## editor (Jun 15, 2011)

Beanburger said:


> Oh, and the weather animations.


The ones on the HTC Flyer are *epic*!


----------



## Beanburger (Jun 15, 2011)

editor said:


> The ones on the HTC Flyer are *epic*!


*jealous*


----------



## Chz (Jun 16, 2011)

http://www.reghardware.com/2011/06/15/htc_desire_will_get_gingerbread/
HTC backtracking a bit.


----------



## Beanburger (Jun 16, 2011)

"To resolve Desire's memory issue and enable the upgrade to Gingerbread, we will cut select apps from the release. Look for status updates starting next week. We apologize for any confusion."

I thought that might be the case. There's a lot of bloat in the Sense interface that could easily be shed.


----------



## editor (Jun 16, 2011)

I'm very much liking the cut of HTCs jib over this.


----------



## Idaho (Jun 16, 2011)

editor said:


> Has your headphones got a built in controller? It sounds like you're brushing a control somewhere,


 
It's got buttons on it - but you have to press them to get anything to happen. In fact they need to be pressed in a fairly specific way to work, and I am pretty sure that I am not brushing them.


----------



## newbie (Jun 16, 2011)

Beanburger said:


> There's a lot of bloat in the Sense interface that could easily be shed.


 
Do the network specific (Orange in my case) apps count as part of this?  They can all go.


----------



## Fingers (Jun 16, 2011)

joustmaster said:


> I can't believe how so many people don't understand how traumatic losing angrybird scores would be.



Quite I have three stars on every level and all the golden eggs. Could not go through that trauma again


----------



## Beanburger (Jun 16, 2011)

newbie said:


> Do the network specific (Orange in my case) apps count as part of this?  They can all go.


No. If you have a network branded phone, the network would need to release the update to you... which would mean they'd be the ones deciding what apps to include or remove at that stage.


----------



## newbie (Jun 16, 2011)

ta


----------



## joustmaster (Jun 16, 2011)

Fingers said:


> Quite I have three stars on every level and all the golden eggs. Could not go through that trauma again


 
You haven't done the seasons levels too?!


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Jul 4, 2011)

the screen on my desire died on me last week, rang HTC, who arranged for it to be picked up last Wednesday. got it back today!

they fixed it and got it back to me within 5 days and 2 of those were a weekend. not bad

makes me feel like staying with HTC, so i'm wondering what goodies will be on offer when my contract ends in October?


----------



## Chz (Jul 4, 2011)

The Sensation is their current top model, but I'm sure there'll be something else by October.


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## cliche guevara (Jul 4, 2011)

Evo 3D come out this month. Basically the same specs as the Sensation but with slightly higher RAM and 3D capability.


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## Elvis Parsley (Jul 4, 2011)

not sure i'm feeling the need of a 3D phone just yet

another good thing i've just discovered since getting my phone back, HTC have wiped off all the crap that came with T-Mobile's version of froyo. no more german apps, result


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## oddworld (Jul 5, 2011)

I've just upgraded my old phone to an HTC Wildfire in White , can someone just confirm for me that if I'm accessing my wireless connection at home its not costing me anything extra??!!

Its probably a stupid question but I'm asking it anyway lol.


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## TruXta (Jul 5, 2011)

Free.


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## oddworld (Jul 5, 2011)

ta


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## wtfftw (Jul 7, 2011)

I've rooted. Anyone want to suggest some fun for me after I've app2sd+ stuffs.

I mean like, favourite roms? what else can I do now I've rooted?


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## wtfftw (Jul 9, 2011)

I flashed my radio and then cyanogen 7. Multi geekgasms.


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## Badgers (Jul 11, 2011)

Just got an email: 



> Welcome to the MightyText for Android Beta! (previously called Texty / Texter)


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## cliche guevara (Jul 11, 2011)

I've been using that, it's very handy for work as you can text from the chrome extension.


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## quimcunx (Jul 11, 2011)

The torch came in useful when I was glamping this weekend.


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## gawkrodger (Jul 30, 2011)

i use my flashlight all the time.



Problem: I use peep for twitter access on my desire. However, it won't refresh/update any tweets. Any ideas on how to sort it
?


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## Chz (Aug 3, 2011)

Well, the "official" Gingerbread update is out on developer.htc.com. But you've got to flash it yourself. And it wipes your phone.

Bit of a fail there, HTC.


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## Beanburger (Aug 4, 2011)

I've read that the Gingerbread update requires an extra 20Mb of internal memory. Seeing as I'm constantly running low already, that's a total fail as far as I'm concerned. Why they didn't take the opportunity to remove crap like Friendstream is beyond me.


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## Chz (Aug 4, 2011)

To be fair, I believe they've rearranged the internal memory partitions such that there's actually more space available for 3rd party apps.


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## Beanburger (Aug 4, 2011)

Chz said:


> To be fair, I believe they've rearranged the internal memory partitions such that there's actually more space available for 3rd party apps.


I'd love to see some confirmation of that, because I'd upgrade for certain if there's more internal memory available - especially since I understand there are battery life improvements as well.


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## joustmaster (Aug 4, 2011)

Any one want to suggest a nice image to flash on to my phone?


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## Chz (Sep 8, 2011)

In the end, I used the stock HTC Gingerbread upgrade. So long as you use a decent backup tool, it all works well. Definitely a bit nippier around the edges. Only concern I've had is that restoring apps from backup means the Market isn't aware you have them (for updates). But they're all yonks old and quite stable. Went from under 20MB internal free to 40MB.


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## Badgers (Sep 26, 2011)

Some free apps for people 

http://www.getjar.com/gold


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## editor (Sep 26, 2011)

Badgers said:


> Some free apps for people
> 
> http://www.getjar.com/gold


They're the people Apple are suing for describing their collection of apps as an 'app store.'

I very much liked their response: http://www.wirefresh.com/furious-getjar-tells-bullying-apple-youre-taking-the-pss/


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## Hocus Eye. (Sep 26, 2011)

How does Apple think it can get away with trying to register common words. App is just short for application. Applications have been around since long before the computer, but has also been used about computer software since before Apple. 'Store 'is a word that goes back into the history of mankind. Putting 'app' before 'store' is no more legally protectable than putting 'ice-cream' before 'van'. It is with some delight I heard this morning that Samsung are suing Apple over something. I didn't listen to the details, it is becoming so common as not to be news.

Why has America allowed its lawyers to take over their country? That is an infection that we must fight in this country as it is starting to get a hold here now.


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## Badgers (Sep 26, 2011)

Imagine if Posh Spice tried to own the word Posh


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## Idaho (Sep 27, 2011)

I'm taking ownership of the letter "e". Everyone needs to pay me per use.


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## fractionMan (Sep 27, 2011)

luckily I can tell you to "fuck off" for free


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## ohmyliver (Dec 12, 2011)

I know this thread is a bit dead.... but...

I still have my Desire.  But am feeling the urge to root.

What ROMs do people recommend?


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## mao (Dec 16, 2011)

MIUI


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## Badgers (Feb 21, 2012)

Is anyone not using WhatsApp? 
If so then why not?


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Feb 24, 2012)

Badgers said:


> Is anyone not using WhatsApp?
> If so then why not?


 
Because I don't know who else who has it and I never use all my texts anyway.


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## editor (Feb 24, 2012)

I've got unlimited texts!


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## Badgers (Feb 24, 2012)

editor said:
			
		

> I've got unlimited texts!



Me too. Just find WhatsApp faster and easier. Free MMS too which not everyone has.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Feb 24, 2012)

Badgers said:


> Me too. Just find WhatsApp faster and easier. Free MMS too which not everyone has.


 
Is there any easy way of finding out which of your contacts has it rather then texting and asking them all?


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## Badgers (Feb 24, 2012)

Global Stoner said:
			
		

> Is there any easy way of finding out which of your contacts has it rather then texting and asking them all?



I use 90% of my texts sending to about 10 people. They all use WhatsApp now. 

Still use SMS but WhatsApp is easier, faster and does more.


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## Elvis Parsley (Nov 14, 2012)

Bump

Suggestions for roms and rooting methods for mrs elvis's desire please

Recently rooted my galaxy s2 and put RR 2.7 on, liking it a lot and thought i should see what i can do to extend the life the aging desire

Ta


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## Elvis Parsley (Nov 14, 2012)

Dp


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## TheHoodedClaw (Nov 14, 2012)

Elvis Parsley said:


> Bump
> 
> Suggestions for roms and rooting methods for mrs elvis's desire please


 
Root and install CM7 using these instructions:

http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/HTC_Desire_(GSM):_Full_Update_Guide

CM7 doesn't natively allow app space to be shared with memory onboard and on the SD card. This is the major drawback with the venerable Desire.You need to do this next:

You can either do it through the recovery installed above, or download and use ROM Manager (or Titanium Backup?) to partition the SD card, a quarter of the SD card formatted as an ext partition is enough.

Download S2E https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.krikun.s2e&hl=en

and let it do its thing.

Most of this from memory of how I did it, so beware!

Anyway, this general process breathed new life into mine.


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## Elvis Parsley (Nov 14, 2012)

Cheers Claw, that's a shed load of good info, looks like it's a bit more complicated than rooting the S2


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## TheHoodedClaw (Nov 15, 2012)

Elvis Parsley said:


> Cheers Claw, that's a shed load of good info, looks like it's a bit more complicated than rooting the S2


 
It's not so bad, really. The instructions need careful reading mind!


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## TheHoodedClaw (Nov 15, 2012)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> It's not so bad, really. The instructions need careful reading mind!  I didn't exactly brick mine the first time I had a go, but nearly. There's no need to update radio code, is all I'm saying about that


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## Chz (Nov 15, 2012)

4EXT Recovery is worth every penny, btw. Flippin' fantastic.


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