It really doesn't matter! The OS and the handsets are still crap! Why put even more polish on a turd like the Diamond, or Touch Pro?
Just man up and buy a better unit... The HTC Dream and Magic are o Rogers in Canada now... I didn't get to see how good the build quality was on those units until I was holding one, the promotional and online images make it look kind of crappy. But neither one are, they're actually pretty good.
And, then New iPhones... Sell of your crappy Diamond like I did and get a good phone.
My Diamond... I was running SPB Mobile Shell 3 o it, and was using Kinoma Play for my media player, over the air contacts syncing and using Double Twist to sync media from my Mac.
It still sucked, software, hardware, apps and more, they all sucked.
iPhone and Android are tops. Don't even bother with Microsoft. 6.5 is as big a failure as 6.1.
please oh please stop hating on WinMo Giz, it's not that bad, and quite frankly I much prefer my HTC touch Pro over the iPhone, and yes I have used both extensively as I am in the communication biz, I tend to make knowing these things my job. Yes the Iphone is easier to use for novices. but the Touch Pro WinMo device is far more versatile in its abilities (It can do everything the Iphone can do and more) Sure it doesn't have as many apps, but who cares if there's 1 million garbage apps, I just need a couple good apps and i'm fine.
@HyperDrunk: I admit WinMo is not for novices... So that being said, if you don't know the difference between GSM and CDMA you should probably just get an iPhone, otherwise, you should have no reservations about getting a WinMo phone.
Read up a little about your device on either XDA or PPCGEEKS and get crackin.
Terrible walk-through. You are going to be responsible for many ppl bricking their phones and for xda being flooded w/ questions from ppl who have not done proper research. U failed to mention security unlocking for radios and which radios can be installed on a non-security unlocked phone. You have also not explained how to hard-reset which is critical and how to manually enter bootloader.
@amw1972: XDA has a CDMA only section for the Touch Pro (Raphael), but most of the devs working on CDMA stuff are cross posting on both XDA and PPCGEEKS...
Overall though I think XDA has more info about GSM/CDMA independent software...
Yeah, suck the fact that most iPhone users are so content with the phone's OS that this kind of thing isn't really needed to make it good. I've jailbroken it to add free tethering abilities, but other than that I'm happier with my iPhone than any other piece of tech I own.
@Shawn Pero: The one real advantage that the iPhone has over pretty much any Windows Mobile phone (and this can be generalized back to both companies products as a whole) is that they maintained exclusive control of the software. In the WinMo market microsoft basically just releases generic OS licesnes to the Carriers and the carriers then hack the shit out of it to block features they don't want you to have, and then they add their own (usually buggy) software and features for add-on pay services they do want you to have.
All this results in the OS as a whole being a very hit and miss experience for the end-user. Not to mention the fact that WinMo is supported on hundreds of phones where as the iPhone OS is supported on exactly two.
But the take away from all of this is that it really isn't Microsoft's fault; sure they could have taken greater control from the carriers back in the beginning but that would have made WinMo more expensive, and likely less widely available on phones.
The goal microsoft had by allowing the carriers free range with modifying the os was to allow for a greater number of phones to be released with their software on it back in the day when no OS developers wanted to get into the hardware market, and it was a pretty good decision then, but I has not held up as the carrier have increasingly abused their ability to modify the os, so now the inevitable trend within WinMo is to reload as generic a version of WinMo as possible to replace the carrier pwnt version that came with the phone.
Personally I would rather have the choice of multiple versions of the OS I run, at least then when you run into a limitation there is always the possibility that there is a different version of the OS that will provide a workaround. Where as if the iPhone don't do it, you're just up shit creek until Mac provides an update or someone publishes an app to do it.
Well, that and the fact that a glass screen would never survive in my hands, but I have yet to physically break an HTC phone...
How much better is 6.5 than the default, Touch Flo customized OS (6.1?) that comes with Sprint's Touch Diamond? My girlfriend's phone seems pretty buggy, but I don't want to go fucking with it unless it's a significant improvement, especially if it means losing Touch Flo. (or can you reinstall Touch Flo after the update?)
@glinden9: Agreed, almost all of the available 6.5 roms have a version that includes Touch Flo (and it is improved over the stock install), but I ditched Touch Flo for the 6.5 integrated titanium interface, some would say it isn't as useful at face value, but I think it is faster and easier to navigate.
@RobotVampire: Just what I was thinking, if you try and start using one of these new 6.5 ROMS without doing a hard reset after the initial install it will run like shit and be hyper unstable, I'm betting that is the issue with most of these people flaming on these 6.5 roms. Read The Fcuking Instructions jackasses.
You may want to put a disclaimer up. I can imagine many n00bs following your guide and screw up with a bricked phone. There's always a risk in flashing ROMs, esp an unofficial method.
@Stegerva: True there are in fact very few ways to unrecoverably brick you phone during flashing, but unfortunately finding the correct instructions for de-bricking your phone can be difficult to find, but keep searching xda and ppcgeeks both have decent search thread/forum functions, stick with it and keep searching the instructions are out there, only post asking for help as a last resort...
One of the most broadly useful tricks is the hard-key tricks to force your phone into boot-loader mode during start up. Each phone has a key or set of keys that if pressed when first turning on or soft-resetting will force the phone into the boot-loader (the program in the phone that loads the rom) if you can get to that screen you can always try installing the ROM again.
For most older HTC phones it is the camera key, for the TP it is as follows:
How do I get into the Bootloader Mode Screen?
Option 1 - Press and Hold the Power and Volume Down buttons and use the stylus to reset your phone while holding those 2 buttons.
Option 2 - Completely power down your phone (i.e. take out battery). Press and Hold the Power and Volume Down buttons until the phone powers on in the boot loader screen.
To get out of it, simply use your stylus to reset the device.
Been running MightyROM 5 on my CDMA USCC(US Cellular) HTC Touch Pro for about a month now. I love it. WinMo 6.5 based with a few tweaks done to it. Fast, Lightweight and finger friendly.
@tricky1: I prefer Silence X roms on my Sprint Touch Pro. I use the tf3d (non-rhodium) wm 6.1 version right now. It's the most stable and the fastest. I'm not a big fan of WM6.5, because it doesn't have anything that advances 6.1. Mighty rom 4 is also pretty good...
@Aju Matt Thomas: There's a DCD rom for the Touch Pro floating around PPCGeeks that blows every other ROM out of the water. It's 6.1 and not 6.5, but there's no keyboard lag. None. No. Keyboard. Lag. At all. It's the best ROM I've ever used.
@PhilR8: I've tried Mighty5, SlienceX and one of the current ones from DCD (not sure if its the exact one you are vaguely referring to tho) over the last two months and honestly from a stability/speed perspective nothing beats Mighty5 on my Sprint TP... (although the radio you have installed can affect the performance/stability of any rom, I believe I am still using the stock Sprint radio, haven't needed to check in a while)
Of course Mighty5 needs a few tweaks out of the box, but all custom roms do.
I'm not sure what you mean by keyboard lag, apparently I've never had a problem with it on any of these roms...
@Aju Matt Thomas: Most of the menu behavior across the whole os was improved in 6.5, in addition to a few other items I don't specifically recall off the top of my head, to be sure, 6.5 is not a significant update to 6.1, but there are a decent number of small incremental improvements.
@SumanaJalople: wait a minute. how was this not here before. oh dear. someone is asleep at the switch. this isn't even your first, first. MAAAAA Sumana is firstin' again. MAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!
06/07/09
Just man up and buy a better unit... The HTC Dream and Magic are o Rogers in Canada now... I didn't get to see how good the build quality was on those units until I was holding one, the promotional and online images make it look kind of crappy. But neither one are, they're actually pretty good.
And, then New iPhones... Sell of your crappy Diamond like I did and get a good phone.
My Diamond... I was running SPB Mobile Shell 3 o it, and was using Kinoma Play for my media player, over the air contacts syncing and using Double Twist to sync media from my Mac.
It still sucked, software, hardware, apps and more, they all sucked.
iPhone and Android are tops. Don't even bother with Microsoft. 6.5 is as big a failure as 6.1.
06/07/09
06/07/09
06/07/09
Read up a little about your device on either XDA or PPCGEEKS and get crackin.
06/06/09
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06/06/09
Not only is it worthwhile to get 6.5 by flashing a custom ROM...you can also get MORE out of your hardware than the sucky manufacturer/carrier ROMs.
As a side note, XDA is mostly for GSM devices...[forum.ppcgeeks.com] is more CDMA flavored.
06/07/09
Overall though I think XDA has more info about GSM/CDMA independent software...
06/07/09
This was supposed to be @amw1972 above...
06/06/09
06/07/09
All this results in the OS as a whole being a very hit and miss experience for the end-user. Not to mention the fact that WinMo is supported on hundreds of phones where as the iPhone OS is supported on exactly two.
But the take away from all of this is that it really isn't Microsoft's fault; sure they could have taken greater control from the carriers back in the beginning but that would have made WinMo more expensive, and likely less widely available on phones.
The goal microsoft had by allowing the carriers free range with modifying the os was to allow for a greater number of phones to be released with their software on it back in the day when no OS developers wanted to get into the hardware market, and it was a pretty good decision then, but I has not held up as the carrier have increasingly abused their ability to modify the os, so now the inevitable trend within WinMo is to reload as generic a version of WinMo as possible to replace the carrier pwnt version that came with the phone.
Personally I would rather have the choice of multiple versions of the OS I run, at least then when you run into a limitation there is always the possibility that there is a different version of the OS that will provide a workaround. Where as if the iPhone don't do it, you're just up shit creek until Mac provides an update or someone publishes an app to do it.
Well, that and the fact that a glass screen would never survive in my hands, but I have yet to physically break an HTC phone...
06/06/09
Flashing is extremely easy. It's only the first time that is the longest and most difficult.
All I gotta do now is plug in my phone to the computer and click the ROM file I have. THAT'S IT!!
Same thing with a radio.
People are known to be changing ROMS everyday or week!!
The first time only gets rid of the security and allows other roms.
I don't want to sound too fanboyish, but SUCK THAT IPHONE,
06/07/09
"I don't want to sound too fanboyish, but SUCK THAT IPHONE,"
Fail.
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and if you brick you phone ...read the "right" post about how to unbrick your phone in xda forum
06/07/09
One of the most broadly useful tricks is the hard-key tricks to force your phone into boot-loader mode during start up. Each phone has a key or set of keys that if pressed when first turning on or soft-resetting will force the phone into the boot-loader (the program in the phone that loads the rom) if you can get to that screen you can always try installing the ROM again.
For most older HTC phones it is the camera key, for the TP it is as follows:
How do I get into the Bootloader Mode Screen?
Option 1 - Press and Hold the Power and Volume Down buttons and use the stylus to reset your phone while holding those 2 buttons.
Option 2 - Completely power down your phone (i.e. take out battery). Press and Hold the Power and Volume Down buttons until the phone powers on in the boot loader screen.
To get out of it, simply use your stylus to reset the device.
06/06/09
[forum.ppcgeeks.com]
06/06/09
[forum.ppcgeeks.com]
[forum.ppcgeeks.com]
06/06/09
06/07/09
Of course Mighty5 needs a few tweaks out of the box, but all custom roms do.
I'm not sure what you mean by keyboard lag, apparently I've never had a problem with it on any of these roms...
06/07/09
06/06/09
Thank god I have an HTC Touch Diamond. I will definitely putting this on it!
06/06/09
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[www.thinkgeek.com]
It's a frickin' Laser Beam!