OFFICIAL HTC Desire Thread

[HapticSimian]

Lol I can see there being need for a HTC Desire sub forum soon :D

Well, maybe not a sub forum, but we can at least have our own thread, can't we? Unless of course the powers that be regard this as doubling-up on the OFFICIAL Android Thread. But our phones are cooler than anyone else's Android phones... for the time being. So THERE! :p

[Wag]

I st to join

[Ry4n]

Has anyone got Skype to work on the HTC Desire's Android OS :confused:

[alt146]

Dammit enigma, was waiting to get my phone before I started the official Desire thread :P

Although I think maybe an Android subforum is in order, there should be enough threads to justify it, and it might make it easier to find info than trawling through the entire android thread.

[Kuga]

I haz one :D

[Tsponge]

Going on nearly 2 weeks now since I got my HTC Desire from Lab88 @ Cedar Square for like R8000 or something.....
And Damn is it great coming from a Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
Have 2 questions...
GPS Navigation software?
.AVI File player?
Has anyone put custom ROM on yet? ROOTED?

[TheMightyP]

Had mine for 5 hours... loving it!!!

What I need is some good apps suggestions. I need an e-reader, a browser alternative (although the included one seems decent), etc etc...

[HapticSimian]

1st bit of possibly useless but definitely interesting info - go to dialler and enter *#*#4636#*#* - gives you an expansive testing menu with very in-depth detail on signal strength, battery usage, programme usage etc. etc. More detail than the standard Android phone info jobbie.

[Kuga]

Have 2 questions...
GPS Navigation software?
.AVI File player?
Has anyone put custom ROM on yet? ROOTED?

For your first question. I wouldn't recommend going to http://forum.mobilism.org/, coz you know, piracy is wrong and all. Still looking for the answer to your second question. Apparently there's an app that converts to .mp4 and a mp4 player.. but I'd prefer to have an avi player.


1st bit of possibly useless but definitely interesting info - go to dialler and enter *#*#4636#*#* - gives you an expansive testing menu with very in-depth detail on signal strength, battery usage, programme usage etc. etc. More detail than the standard Android phone info jobbie.

Pretty cool :D Maybe update your OP as you go along for useless and interesting commands? Put everything under one post etc.

[alt146]

I think there is an app that plays avis. I saw one mentioned somewhere online.

[Kuga]

I think there is an app that plays avis. I saw one mentioned somewhere online.

Gief link!

[mk1]

GPS software for Android - Ndrive works fine of my Hero and it has got full SA maps.

[rorz0r]

Just a small app I found which I think is awesome is "Car mode". When turned on all calls automatically go on loudspeaker when answered. :)

[TheMightyP]

eReader app: Aldiko- free and in the app store. Seems to work better than any others I've found. Still waiting on the kindle app though.

[Stefan!]

Can anyone please tell me if the desire comes with a sd card from vodacom? If so, how big?

[TheMightyP]

Can anyone please tell me if the desire comes with a sd card from vodacom? If so, how big?

Don't know about vodacom, but mtn provide a 4gig sd card.

[mk1]

Skype on Android - Fringe works ok with Skype plugin

[Stefan!]

Don't know about vodacom, but mtn provide a 4gig sd card.

Thats cool. I hope vodacom does the same. 1 More day to wait :(

[dlk001]

Can anyone please tell me if the desire comes with a sd card from vodacom? If so, how big?

Mine came with 4Gig MicroSD card.

[Stefan!]

Mine came with 4Gig MicroSD card.

Good stuff. Thanks

[ravage]

Just got my Desire from Vodacom today woohoo, currently charging it! Mine also came with a 4GB sd card :)

[lanman]

Could be a simple question but is it necessary to charge my phone 16hours while off before i start using it?

[alt146]

Could be a simple question but is it necessary to charge my phone 16hours while off before i start using it?

I read on a couple of forums that you should charge it for three hours before you use it for the first time. Apparently it takes a week or two to get up to full strength. Lemme see if I can find a linky.

Seems the official HTC site say 8 hours (http://www.htc.com/europe/faqs.aspx?p_id=312&cat=80&id=127114)

Technically Lithium-ion batteries arent supposed to have memories, but a lot of places that I read said the life of the phone got better after it had been charged a couple of times.

If I wait the full eight hours I probably wont get to play with mine tonight, so it will have to make do with the four or five hours it's gotten so far, although I'll leave it plugged in while I set it up and then let it charge through the night.

[Stefan!]

Could be a simple question but is it necessary to charge my phone 16hours while off before i start using it?
It says 8 hours on the htc website

http://www.htc.com/www/faqs.aspx?p_id=312&cat=80&id=127114

[lanman]

Also just read on a few sites that one of the advantages of lithium-ion is the fact that it has no memory as previously stated, so ill just plug it in and leave it in for 8hours while I explore. BTW just got mine a hour ago. AWESOME phone

[SlowInternet]

Mine also came with 4gb card. :D

[Mr Feesh]

For your first question. I wouldn't recommend going to http://forum.mobilism.org/, coz you know, piracy is wrong and all. Still looking for the answer to your second question. Apparently there's an app that converts to .mp4 and a mp4 player.. but I'd prefer to have an avi player.


is it just me or is this site ridiculously slow

[lanman]

Can anyone maybe post there internet and mms settings. My settings was not pre-installed:( on the phone. Doesn't matter which network, will figure out what goes where.
Thanks

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Hey dudes :)

So I got my Desire last friday, and I'm loving it! I just need to get the MTN data settings, you know, 3G, etc etc. Any ideas?

[Tsponge]

When I bought mine it came with 4GB card.

If anyone needs settings for MMS/3G I can help.
Mine is all working well on MTN
Just tell me where to go menu wise and I will post them
I see from the useful link posted Kuga that for Ndrive you phone needs to be routed... Mine is not yet.
And the Co-pilot links are mostly Broken :(
Maybe I should just buy one...
Loving the phone...
Useful apps:
Shazam - Identify Songs. Like Track ID on SE phones
CallTrack - Logs all calls to google calender. I created a seperate calender for my calls and is pretty useful
Evernote - notes that sync with online account
Dropbox - Sync files between devices,PC's
FlashApp - Flashlight without Camera
Gameboid - Gameboy emulator
Google Goggles - Do searches based on pictures
ES File Manager - Browse Files on Phone, SD card, Wifi Network Shares
ES Task Manager - Task manager...

All are on Android market if I remember correctly

[Fudzy]

It's a pity Google Maps Navigation isn't available here.

[cyb3rt]

Anybody know why I can't get the Android Market working? Want to download widgets but it just loads for a while and says "Unable to download widgets. Tap to try again."

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Interesting issue. I haven't had that problem. How are you connecting? 3G or Wi-Fi?

[rorz0r]

Market worked out of the box for me...

[Ecco]

Just got my HTC Desire yesterday.

Very impressed with the phone. However below are some of the issues I would like to try resolve. Maybe you guys can assist.

1. Data usage. How do you guys manage how much data this phone is going to pull. I really don't need it updating facebook, the weather app, friendster etc on a regular basis. I have wifi at home and would prefer to just let any updates for the above apps to kick in at home like maybe at 06h00 every morning at the most. I see on some of these apps you can set it to update once a day only, but it doesnt let you specify a time or network.
2. Following from the above, can anybody reccomend an app to track data usage?

3. People. Its gone and pulled a lot of contacts from facebook. Some of these i really dont want to be in my list of contacts, simply because they are overseas and i dont actually call them. How do i remove these?

Have a few more queries, but cant remember them right away.

[lanman]

"Just tell me where to go menu wise and I will post them"
Im not positive but as far as i know its under settings- wirelles and networks-mobile networks(the second one)-access points names. There you will find the different access points like myMTN ect. If someone can maybe post vodacom settings aswell, would be nice. Im on virgin mobile so have to figure out by using mtn and vc settings as reference.

[cyb3rt]

Interesting issue. I haven't had that problem. How are you connecting? 3G or Wi-Fi?

I was on 3G first and it did this, and this morning I connected to the wifi at work, still does the same.. :(

[rorz0r]

I installed netcounter. Works great for 3G and tracks per day/week/month etc. It doesn't seem to pick up my wifi traffic at all though. (doesn't really matter).

I added a widget called power control to the home screen. Easily lets you toggle wifi/bt/screen/sync/gps. (Uses 4 "blocks" on the screen and provides 5 toggle switches so better than the individual ones). Unfortunately when you turn off sync then it doesn't do gmail either. Installed another widget called "sync all" so when I get home I turn on wifi then hit sync all and let it go wild.

Biggest problem at the moment is the screen locking all the time. If I don't touch the phone for a minute then I have to
1: press power button to turn on screen
2: swipe downwards to unlock
It's quite awkward, is there an easier way? Generally if I press the power button I want it unlocked, not to see the time.

Tried enabling the "security pattern" thing hoping it would lock to that, then to unlock just do the pattern. However this means doing step 1, 2 and then the pattern as well... :(

[DAE_JA_VOO]

1. Data usage. How do you guys manage how much data this phone is going to pull. I really don't need it updating facebook, the weather app, friendster etc on a regular basis. I have wifi at home and would prefer to just let any updates for the above apps to kick in at home like maybe at 06h00 every morning at the most. I see on some of these apps you can set it to update once a day only, but it doesnt let you specify a time or network.
Well, the native facebook app fails, so you should just disable it completely. That'll solve the facebook syncing issue. You can tell twitter not to Sync automatically. Nobody actually READS the weather updates their phone gives them, so disable that too :P




2. Following from the above, can anybody reccomend an app to track data usage?
Yeah. 3G Watchdog. It's got a widget as well :)




3. People. Its gone and pulled a lot of contacts from facebook. Some of these i really dont want to be in my list of contacts, simply because they are overseas and i dont actually call them. How do i remove these?
Yep.

People > Menu > View > Uncheck facebook.

[biometrics]

Just played with a Desire .... it's got working Flash support. Screen is awesome and it's fast. Bye bye iPhone!

[poffle]

Howzit,

i asked this question in another thread but it didnt get answered :p Whats the difference between the local and imported versions besides the warranty? Imported = 12 month warranty, local = 24month warranty. Imported available immediately, local only available on friday.

Would it be wise to wait till next week or rather go pick up one today/tomorrow. I cant go on friday :(

[Ecco]

People > Menu > View > Uncheck facebook.

Did that. But from the home screen if i click on the phone button, the list of contacts it displays still includes all the facebook contacts.

[kvi]

tonight is rooting night :) and then Modaco Rom

http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-desire-desire-modaco-com/307881/10-may-r2-modaco-custom-rom-for-htc-desire-with-online-kitchen/

[poffle]

does rooting the desire void the warranty?

[cyb3rt]

I was on 3G first and it did this, and this morning I connected to the wifi at work, still does the same.. :(

Well it eventually went in, and I put some apps on download, but its just been saying 'starting download' for the last hour (if you check under downloads menu in market)..

[rorz0r]

Sounds pretty screwed...

[dlk001]

So last night I started configuring my new Desire. I have only used the device for about 4 hours and here are my initial impressions and setup.

Device Setup:

Device setup was flawless. In less than 30min, I have setup WiFi, Exchange Email, Facebook & Twitter. All my contacts, calendar, emails were sync in less than 2 minutes while I was busy watching youtube video reviews of how to root the Desire.

The UI scores well above Windows Mobile and Symbian in my opinion. I’ve played a little bit with the iFruit and to me, Android running on a powerful processor like this wins handsdown.

Software Setup:

This is my initial software installs

- ASTRO FileManager:= A very useful tool to browse the files on the device especially if you want to install software from the SDCard.
- Dolphin Browser HD:= I have seen a lot of good reviews on youtube about this browser. So far I’m using it as a default browser. It’s awesome.
- Call Log Calender:= This software will automatically save my calls, sms to a phone calendar or my google calendar.
- Navigon:= It’s a great replacement for the Google Maps with voice commands. I’ve used Garmin Mobile and Tomtom on my Sony X1 and I must say Navigon looks brilliant on the Desire.
- NDrive:= I’ve installed NDrive version 9.2.15 rc3 but the software is struggling to lock onto GPS.
- Aru Ringtones:= I like this software for browsing and downloading ringtones from the net
- BatteryTime:= Tells me the remaining battery life, idle time, Talk Time, Video Playback Time and Websurfing time.

I’m finding it difficult to concentrate on my work without starring at this device. So far I’m blow away!

[kvi]

does rooting the desire void the warranty?

it does (unless you know how to unroot ;) )

[Ecco]

Okay poked around on the net for a solution to all facebook profiles with a phone number showing in the dialer app.

No real solution apart from removing the account from Facebook for Sense.

What i really wanted is to have only my contacts in the dialer, and only these contacts to sync to Facebook. Android cant do that.

[DAE_JA_VOO]

tonight is rooting night :) and then Modaco Rom

http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-desire-desire-modaco-com/307881/10-may-r2-modaco-custom-rom-for-htc-desire-with-online-kitchen/


You might want to hang on before you do that. Rooting voids your warranty, and Android 2.2 is around the corner. Google I/O is on the 19th, and if Android 2.2 isn't released on that very day, it's almost certainly be announced, at the very least. Android 2.2 has been reported to be 450% faster than Android 2.1, and it'll support installing Apps to the SD card as well, so just hang on :)

[kvi]

Howzit,

i asked this question in another thread but it didnt get answered :p Whats the difference between the local and imported versions besides the warranty? Imported = 12 month warranty, local = 24month warranty. Imported available immediately, local only available on friday.

Would it be wise to wait till next week or rather go pick up one today/tomorrow. I cant go on friday :(


depends if you gettin on contract or not..... if its a cash deal then you can get straight from LEAF (Lab88) , the proper local version.... and they have stock now

[kvi]

You might want to hang on before you do that. Rooting voids your warranty, and Android 2.2 is around the corner. Google I/O is on the 19th, and if Android 2.2 isn't released on that very day, it's almost certainly be announced, at the very least. Android 2.2 has been reported to be 450% faster than Android 2.1, and it'll support installing Apps to the SD card as well, so just hang on :)

hell no ;) will root now, then probably first anyway to get 2.2 when it does eventually surface. Many of us been running custom tweaked android roms since androids inception. magic/hero/nexus/legend/ and now desire

so easy to get phone back to stock anyways

[poffle]

Its gonna be on the vodacom business call. R300 per month. Cant really afford R6k straight up

[kvi]

then i dont really understand how if you buying a phone from vodacom, there is even an option for it being an international version?

[poffle]

im going through expansys. They are willing to give me a imported version on that contract, unless of course i wait till friday

[kvi]

dude wait till friday ;)

[poffle]

yah i suppose i can survive 2 more days without it :p

[SirFooK'nG]

HAHA.. I lol'd at the comment on top of the page: http://apcmag.com/in-depth-review-htc-desire-outguns-the-iphone.htm?page=1


Sorry Apple fanboys, but the HTC Desire is set to bitch-slap the iPhone back to Cupertino.

[Knersus]

Check this link about the 450% speed increase mentioned earlier in this thread. Looks really exciting and I hope HTC offer the 2.2 upgrade soon after it's released.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/05/11/exclusive-androidpolice-coms-nexus-one-is-running-android-2-2-froyo-how-fast-is-it-compared-to-2-1-oh-only-about-450-faster/

BTW, I just got my Desire an hour ago... is it ok to swtich it on while going through that first 8hour long charge?

[alt146]

Woo, have managed to kill my Desire's battery in seven hours :P The first thing that hits you is just how insanely fast is. The screen is also really sexy, but I've turned down the brightness to help with the battery life. Web browsing is incredible, I love the notifications bar and how intergrated everything is. I dont use facebook, so I didnt have a million people appear in my dialer all of a sudden, but I did have to spend a couple of minutes linking my google contacts to the contacts off my old phone.

Whoever was complaining about the lock screen - there's an app called no-lock that lets you unlock with just the power button, and it has a widget so you can turn lock off when it's on your desk and then on before you put it in your pocket.

Personally I found that the qwerty keyboard is a little cramped in portrait mode, so I installed the HTC IME Mod keyboard from xda developers, lets you use the dialer keypad (with T9 predicitive text) when the screen is vertical. It also allows predicitive text in places like the market and url bars and enables voice-to-text and voice search. I would definitely recommend it.

The HTC power widget is great to toggle your setting in a single click. SeePU is a pretty good monitor CPU, RAM, netwrk monitor, by the same people that make the juicedefender app. I also found an app that enables OBEX transfers over bluetooth and something called FlashApp that leds you turn the LED on outside of the camera.

And a market enabler that seems to be working - linky is in the android thread.

[rorz0r]

Thanks for the nolock tip alt146. The default keyboard can actually be set to "keypad" with T9 so I'm using that. When you turn to landscape its qwerty.

[alt146]

Thanks for the nolock tip alt146. The default keyboard can actually be set to "keypad" with T9 so I'm using that. When you turn to landscape its qwerty.

Didn't see the option to change the keyboard to T9 in the default keyboard, I must have missed it. Think I still prefer the Mod keyboard though, simply because it lets you use predictive text everywhere :D

[rorz0r]

The gmail app is annoying me a bit. Sometimes it hides text I want to see but there's no option to "show more text". Also it doesn't show the URLs as links which is pretty bad.

[dlk001]

Can anyone kindly assist me with MTN MMS Settings for Desire?

[rorz0r]

I fiddled in the sim toolkit a bit and it didn't manage to set them up OTA but they sent me an sms which says this:
Can't auto setup MMS. call 173 for help or setup manually:
APN=myMTN
username=mtnmms
gateway=196.11.240.241
port=8080
server=http://mms.mtn.co.za/mms/wapenc

I haven't tried it as I haven't needed to send an mms yet.

[rorz0r]

And for 3g I'm using this:
APN=internet
server=mail.mtn.co.za
the rest is not set or the default.

[lanman]

Does anyone else's battery also get kinda hot while charging or using the phone extensively? Something I should be worried about? And my battery only lasts like 5 hours and then requires recharge, I must add I play with the phone a lot and its only been recharged three times.

[Mr Feesh]

my phone also gets hot after a charge tho the battery lasts long,, which is the best remote for vlc?

[y2468]

Correct APN settings:
Vodacom:
Name: Vodacom Internet
APN: Internet
Proxy: Leave blank
Port: Leave blank
UserName: Leave Blank
MMSC: Leave Blank
MMS Proxy: 196.6.128.13 (I had it as mmsc.vodacom4me.co.za but this doens’t work)
MMS Port: 8080
MMC: 655
MNC: 01
APN Type: Leave Blank

MTN
Name: Internet
APN: Internet
Proxy: Leave blank
Port: Leave blank
UserName: Leave Blank
MMSC: Leave Blank
MMS Proxy: 196.11.240.241
MMS Port: 8080
MMC: 655
MNC: 01
APN Type: Leave Blank

[HapticSimian]

It's a pity Google Maps Navigation isn't available here.

Well, technically no. But if you were to follow this (http://nimbu.amorvi.com/2010/04/add-turn-by-turn-navigation-to-htc-desire/) blog post... ;) MTN seriously need to revisit their data bundle offerings! :mad:

[lanman]

Correct APN settings:
Vodacom:
Name: Vodacom Internet
APN: Internet
Proxy: Leave blank
Port: Leave blank
UserName: Leave Blank
MMSC: Leave Blank
MMS Proxy: 196.6.128.13 (I had it as mmsc.vodacom4me.co.za but this doens’t work)
MMS Port: 8080
MMC: 655
MNC: 01
APN Type: Leave Blank

MTN
Name: Internet
APN: Internet
Proxy: Leave blank
Port: Leave blank
UserName: Leave Blank
MMSC: Leave Blank
MMS Proxy: 196.11.240.241
MMS Port: 8080
MMC: 655
MNC: 01
APN Type: Leave Blank

You don't maybe have mms settings as well please? Or does these settings work for mms too?

[cyb3rt]

So guys, what apps and stuff have all of you installed on the Desire? I have been busy all day checking out whats going on with widgets and everything, haha! Here's a list of the installed apps on mine:

Dolphin Browser HD
Handcent SMS
Pandora
ShakeToWake Clock (will test this tomorrow morning)
SMS Unread Count
Uninstaller
Wifi Analyzer

Will see what reply's you guys have and what is also good to get. :)

[HapticSimian]

You don't maybe have mms settings as well please? Or does these settings work for mms too?

It looks like:

Name: MTN MMS
APN: myMTN
Proxy: <blank>
Port: <blank>
Username: mtnmms
Password: <starred out> but probably mtnmms
Server: <blank>
MMSC: http://mms.mtn.co.za/mms/wapenc
MMS Proxy: 196.011.240.241
MMS Port: 8080
MMS Protocol: WAP 2.0
MCC: 655
MNC: 10
Authentication Type: <blank>
APN Type: mms

[lanman]

It looks like:

Name: MTN MMS
APN: myMTN
Proxy: <blank>
Port: <blank>
Username: mtnmms
Password: <starred out> but probably mtnmms
Server: <blank>
MMSC: http://mms.mtn.co.za/mms/wapenc
MMS Proxy: 196.011.240.241
MMS Port: 8080
MMS Protocol: WAP 2.0
MCC: 655
MNC: 10
Authentication Type: <blank>
APN Type: mms

Thats strange, as soon as I enter these settings the APN disappears. No where to be found. I first thought i did something wrong but the settings seems right...

[HapticSimian]

Thats strange, as soon as I enter these settings the APN disappears. No where to be found. I first thought i did something wrong but the settings seems right...

...and this:

It’s easy! Call *123*12# to download the MMS settings. When you receive the settings on your phone, you will be requested to save them. If your phone asks for a pin, enter 1234. Should your phone request you to save these settings as your default settings, press Yes.Once this is complete, switch your phone off and on again to activate MMS settings. Should you experience any problems setting up your phone, please call MTN Data Helpdesk on 1555(free call from an MTN cell phone) or 0831555 from any other phone.

doesn't work...?

[alt146]

my phone also gets hot after a charge tho the battery lasts long,, which is the best remote for vlc?

maybe this (http://www.gmote.org/)?

My phone also gets reasonably warm - juice defender said 22C while it was charging. It seems to be pretty common :(

I think battery times will improve vastly once we all stop spedning the entire day downloading apps and moving widgets till they're in just the right spot.

[dlk001]

Thanks guys for your MMS help. The problem is on MTN side. I can connect to internet but I fail to send or receive MMS. I tried N95, X1 and Desire and MTN are now looking into the problem.

[lanman]

Would it be stupid to use a normal USB extension cable to extend my charger cable so that i don't lie on the ground to do something on my phone while its on charge :-)? Can any problems arise from me doing this? Like the battery exploding:-).

[armitage]

im in love with this phone. Seriously fast and the cool stuff you can do with it is amazing. Hope the gee whiz factor doesn't wearoff soon.

Gmote is awesome :)
Google skymaps is pretty neat.

Anybody know how to get access to the full android market though?

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Anybody know how to get access to the full android market though?
Yeah. Root your phone :P

Anyway, has anyone tried using a different "home" to HTC Sense? I disabled Sense and installed Helix tonight. It feels really quick (as if this phone can feel any quicker), and it allows me to have a "Dock" with my most used links there. Give it a bash :)

[DJNgoma]

Yeah. Root your phone :P

No point in buying the Desire locally then :D, unlocking the bootloader voids your warranty. Nexus One FTW.

EDIT: kvi mentioned unrooting, but that wouldn't really help with the bootloader.

Here are the links.
http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-desire-desire-modaco-com/307683/howto-unroot-your-htc-desire/

http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-desire-desire-modaco-com/308058/stock-htc-desire-roms/

[Knersus]

Would it be stupid to use a normal USB extension cable to extend my charger cable so that i don't lie on the ground to do something on my phone while its on charge :-)? Can any problems arise from me doing this? Like the battery exploding:-).

What about getting an extension cable for your plug so that you can move the plug onto a table or something...

[alt146]

im in love with this phone. Seriously fast and the cool stuff you can do with it is amazing. Hope the gee whiz factor doesn't wearoff soon.

Gmote is awesome :)
Google skymaps is pretty neat.

Anybody know how to get access to the full android market though?

See my post in the official android thread, there's an app that that can spoof foreign markets for access to paid apps, but it only appears to be working for some people.

[rorz0r]

Agree that the charger cable is really short. Fine for desktop but not for wall charger. I imagine any usb extension should work fine though.

[kvi]

damn.... android and htc are DOMINATING these forums now

[rorz0r]

HTC/Android >>>MMMMONSTER KILL>>>iPhone

[SirFooK'nG]

HTC/Android >>>MMMMONSTER KILL>>>iPhone

wwaa haaa haaa!!!

DOMINATION

[lanman]

Mega kill with the amount of users going to android...

[hexagon]

Has anyone found an easy way to save email attachments?

[alt146]

Evo 4G was launched in the states today. Even with my shiny new Desire, I really wish that phone was coming here.

And the next iPhone is going to need like a blowjob attachment or something, I can't see them releasing anything in July that the Froyo based phones wont be able to match.

[poffle]

ffs i just want to get my phone :( yet again, stock constraints

[lanman]

Okay, im getting a bit woried. My battery only lasts 4hours and the temprature doesnt go below 28 degrees. Is it just my phone? Any one else experiencing the same problem?

[larkia]

I just got my Desire yesterday, so the battery took some panel beating with all the playing around :)

My batt temp was around 24 this morning...

[Ecco]

Okay, im getting a bit woried. My battery only lasts 4hours and the temprature doesnt go below 28 degrees. Is it just my phone? Any one else experiencing the same problem?

Thats not right.

I used mine yesterday for 14 hours of quite heavy use before it eventually died. 4 is too little. No comment on the battery temp - i have no idea what the temp is on mine havent loaded any power apps.

[lanman]

My battery's avarage temp is 35. Doesnt sound right to me. I only dream of 14 hours. Did you do the first 8hour charge thing? and how many times did you recharge your phone already (more or less)?

[larkia]

I did an initial full charge via the supplied charger, and continued playing around for another 3 odd hours after. This morning it was on 20%, so I decided to do the second charge via USB. USB is taking forever though

[lanman]

So you also only got like 4hours the first time. Had my phone for 2fays and required 4 recharges already and its on 20% now after a full recharge last night. Unplugged it this morning at 8. Wonder who i should phone, htc or vc?

[Knersus]

So you also only got like 4hours the first time. Had my phone for 2fays and required 4 recharges already and its on 20% now after a full recharge last night. Unplugged it this morning at 8. Wonder who i should phone, htc or vc?

That does not sound right. One question though - have you tried any of the battery saving tricks like switching wifi, gps, blueteeth off...? those are the battery munchers.

[greggpb]

if you read xda developers, guys are are only expericing full batty life after a month. and some guys getting 2 or 3 days

[larkia]

So you also only got like 4hours the first time. Had my phone for 2fays and required 4 recharges already and its on 20% now after a full recharge last night. Unplugged it this morning at 8. Wonder who i should phone, htc or vc?

The charge lasted for the 3 hours of heavy use, and then another 7 hours before I recharged. With my previous phone I found that USB charges did not last as long.

Also, as suggested, have a look at what is chowing the battery.
Home | Menu | Settings | About phone | Battery

[poffle]

also dont overcharge it. My c902 was sweet until i left charging the entire night (like 11 hours) now my battery doesnt last 1 day :(

[Knersus]

@lanman - have you seen this post on xda developers - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=666404

[Stefan!]

I am looking for two apps:

One that tracks my cellphone when stolen (There seems to be quite a few anyone know the best one?)

One that monitors airtime usage (I Found netcounter which does not run on desire).

Anyone know good apps?

[kvi]

wavesecure the best... should be on market

[DAE_JA_VOO]

And 3g Watchdog for the monitoring. It can't monitor your actual airtime, but it'll monitor your data usage and you can do the math.

[dakota]

I am looking for two apps:

One that tracks my cellphone when stolen (There seems to be quite a few anyone know the best one?)

One that monitors airtime usage (I Found netcounter which does not run on desire).

Anyone know good apps?

I use NetBilling. Tracks WiFi and network traffic and allows you to set the price per mb and you can tell it how much data you get on your data bundle (if any).

[Stefan!]

Thanks!! Will check them all out..

If my battery allows it :cry: WiFi is killing it. (Its only my first charge though)

[cyb3rt]

wavesecure the best... should be on market

Yeah wavesecure is awesome, but not free to use forever, its only a 7day trail (Its $19.90 for 1 year btw). But if you worried about it getting lost its very very cool, you can lock the phone from your web browser and give the person that has it a nice custom message with it. The app pin pointed my phone exactly at work where I'm sitting, and you can see the number of the SIM thats inserted, just to name some features..

[lanman]

@Knersus, thanks for the link, i found the problem. 60% of the time my wifi is on and running. Never though my wifi could eat away my baterry life so much. Lets hope thats the problem. Going to turn off my wifi each time im not using it and see how it goes. Thanks for al the help.

[alt146]

@Knersus, thanks for the link, i found the problem. 60% of the time my wifi is on and running. Never though my wifi could eat away my baterry life so much. Lets hope thats the problem. Going to turn off my wifi each time im not using it and see how it goes. Thanks for al the help.

Put the power control widget somewhere easy to get t - then you, turn wifi on and off with one press and tell at a glance what on your phone might be eating battery.

[rorz0r]

In 3g watchdog you can set the date your bundle gets loaded and how many mb it is etc.
Netcounter works on my desire for 3g but not for wifi.

[Knersus]

@Knersus, thanks for the link, i found the problem. 60% of the time my wifi is on and running. Never though my wifi could eat away my baterry life so much. Lets hope thats the problem. Going to turn off my wifi each time im not using it and see how it goes. Thanks for al the help.

Cool, glad I could help. I always switch everything that I'm not using off using the power control widget that alt146 talks about..

[Thorin]

Has anyone tried the Desire on the Parrot CK3100 carkit? In particular does the voice dialing work by pushing the dial button on the parrot? If not, is there a work arround?

Thanks,

[Stefan!]

Just mentioning for anyone interested - if you wanna change your ringtone to mp3 without connecting to pc, get ringdroid!

[rorz0r]

Has anyone tried the Desire on the Parrot CK3100 carkit? In particular does the voice dialing work by pushing the dial button on the parrot? If not, is there a work arround?

Thanks,
Could be wrong but I don't think the desire even has voice dialling built in. There are a few apps that can do it so maybe one of them would work with the parrot...

[Mr Feesh]

For those interested in syncing there contact photo's with Facebook without adding all your contacts to your address book use a program called "syncMyPix", have just used it and it found most people and syncd, there been about 10 out of 117 that it didn't find, so you do it manually within the program.

here is the link to the barcode thingy :P http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=350x350&chl=http://syncmypix.googlecode.com/files/SyncMyPix.apk

[CharlieBoi]

Bit off topic..But does anyone know if the Desire is available at any Vodacom branches in Cape town?

[jacquesv]

If anyone is interested I have found a nice app for sound profiles its called Ear and its free from the marketplace. Now I can switch wifi, and bluetooth off when I select my Sleep profile and squeeze an extra few hours out of the battery :)

[KnightBlade]

Bit off topic..But does anyone know if the Desire is available at any Vodacom branches in Cape town?

Neither Canal Walk or Tygervalley has stock. I placed my order at Canal Walk yesterday. Will hopefully get my phone next week. Tygervalley is expecting stock in two weeks time.

[Knersus]

Bit off topic..But does anyone know if the Desire is available at any Vodacom branches in Cape town?

Rather just get it from Vodacom directly - if you are ready for an upgrade you can phone their upgrade line. I got mine in 1.5 days after I made the call. Much faster than going to branches.

[Seeyou]

Kind of left field here, but does anyone know if the Desire will work on a Vodacom iPhone 3G contract? ie. Is it simply a matter of transferring the SIM from one phone to another to be able to use all the services (3G data bundles, etc) or is there more to it?

[Ecco]

Kind of left field here, but does anyone know if the Desire will work on a Vodacom iPhone 3G contract? ie. Is it simply a matter of transferring the SIM from one phone to another to be able to use all the services (3G data bundles, etc) or is there more to it?

Should be fine. Cant think of what the problem would be.

[Ecco]

For gaming, and if you a fan of old school games like you played on the golden china consoles back in the day, try Nesoid Lite(free). Was quite surprised how well it worked. You will obviously need to get some Nes roms too.

[Stefan!]

I have filled my phone memory on the device. How do you move apps to the sd card? I have Astrofile but still not sure how :(

[rorz0r]

Wait for android 2.2 to be announced (hopefully on 19th) and then released for the desire (maybe another 2 months?).
OR
Root your phone and use something like app2sd
OR
delete some apps

[Stefan!]

Thanks @rorz0r

Looks like i found my first real irritation with the phone. (Or actually android.).
That really sucks. Would be nice if you could just move it.

[adamr]

what are the flaws in summary of the phone? ... (please dont give me positives)

[hexagon]

what are the flaws in summary of the phone? ... (please dont give me positives)

Most of these are obviously Android flaws, not necessarily Desire issues:
No voice navigation out of the box.
You can't save email attachments to the phone memory (in common with other Androids and iPhones).
Apps can't run from SD (will apparently be fixed in 2.2 as above).
Potential for very high data usage. Out of the box you will probably be doing 10MB per day even with conservative use.
Shortish battery life, depending on usage.
Poor screen visibility outdoors.
The touchscreen keyboard will never have quite the tactile response of a real keyboard. I'm still picking up speed.
Google maps doesn't cache map data but redownloads each time.
The FM radio doesn't work with headphones other than the set that comes with the phone (antenna part of cable).

[HapticSimian]

The FM radio doesn't work with headphones other than the set that comes with the phone (antenna part of cable).

That ain't right as far as I know... Any 3.5mm headphones should work. The phone doesn't use anything more complex than the normal little wire in the headphones' cord as an antenna.

[alt146]

To be honest, with the awesome predictive text, I can type significantly faster on my Desire than I could on my old E61. Although my sentences do sometimes make less sense if I dont check what word it's about to insert. Maybe the Milestone with its hardware keyboard and android's predictive text would be easier to type on than the Desire, but I wouldn't rate the on-screen only keyboard as a flaw. It's very impressively implemented.

[DotKomrade]

what are the flaws in summary of the phone? ... (please dont give me positives)

Here's a good list of things that you might find are slightly annoying. Fixes are mentioned too.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=666332

I installed an app called ThickButtons that replaces the default keyboard with one that is far more awesome. It resizes the keys as you type based on what the word is likely to be...

I can't believe this phone. It is the most impressive piece of gadgetry I have laid hands on in ages and it blows me away at every turn. Android/open source seems so honest as well; for example, the Advanced task killer kills itself by default, and ThickButtons shares learned words with other keyboard apps... The screen is crisper than on my Macbook Pro.

I haven't even turned on 3G. I spend most of my time working from home, so it's always connected to my wireless network. I just discovered how simple it is to sync iCal with the phone via Google Calendar. I'm really, really impressed. My last touch screen phone was an LG KU990 (Viewty) and I threw it away last year in a fit of (semi-drunken) rage at that useless piece of crap. I didn't think I'd do touch screen again after that. This is worth it though...

[Obelix]

Ive had my desire on order from MTN now for Over a week, and the service rep i gotta deal with has been spinning me all kinds of crap. From " we have no stock in the country" to "we have stock but its not on the system" back to "no stock in the country".
A friend of mine "TheMightyP got his 2 days after i was there and he walked out with one the same day. Im getting a serious run-around here and would like to know what everyone else's experiences has been with mtndirect and the supply of the HTC desire.

I am no longer amused with the "kept in the dark" BS im getting fed.

[HapticSimian]

Ive had my desire on order from MTN now for Over a week, and the service rep i gotta deal with has been spinning me all kinds of crap. From " we have no stock in the country" to "we have stock but its not on the system" back to "no stock in the country".
A friend of mine "TheMightyP got his 2 days after i was there and he walked out with one the same day. Im getting a serious run-around here and would like to know what everyone else's experiences has been with mtndirect and the supply of the HTC desire.

I am no longer amused with the "kept in the dark" BS im getting fed.

Call MTN on 808. Ask to be transferred to 'Retentions'. Demand to speak to Lebo. Thatisall.

[Richard7]

Potential for very high data usage. Out of the box you will probably be doing 10MB per day even with conservative use.


What is the high data usage from? Web browsing & app downloading?

[The_Pumpkin_King]

my upgrade is due next week with MTN, anybody got the phone from them?

theres nothing on the mtn direct website and i went to eastgate and was told they havent received and dont know when they will

[Seeyou]

As a matter of interest - is there a newer model on the horizon for SA soon (like the Incredible) or is the Desire likely to be the flagship phone here for a while to come?

[alt146]

As a matter of interest - is there a newer model on the horizon for SA soon (like the Incredible) or is the Desire likely to be the flagship phone here for a while to come?

The other high-spec HTCs that have just been released are flagships for different markets and dont use the same cellphone tech we have here in South Africa. Evo 4G for Sprint, Incredible for Verizon and N1/Desire for GSM networks like ours. I haven't seen anything about phones that will be coming out soon other than those. So I think the Desire will be king of the hill till about June/July when HTC announces some Froyo running 1.5Ghz, stacked AMOLED, 4" screen, 1Gb RAM, 1GB ROM, 8MP back, 3.2MPixel forward monster phone that completely destroys the next iPhone, as well as just about everything else in the world :P

tl;dr - guys, we have three months of having the best phone in the world, make the most of it while it lasts :D

[SlowInternet]

I cannot understand where my internal memory of my desire has gone. I installed Navigon (total file size 162.5mb) and now I'm getting a low on space message. Isn't it suppose to have about 576mb ? I'm really a noob with this android thing so any advise will be appreciated. :confused:

[HapticSimian]

I cannot understand where my internal memory of my desire has gone. I installed Navigon (total file size 162.5mb) and now I'm getting a low on space message. Isn't it suppose to have about 576mb ? I'm really a noob with this android thing so any advise will be appreciated. :confused:

That 576mb is the TOTAL available, most of which is taken up by Android itself. Navigon should only take about 20mb or so - the maps should be on the SD card...

[SlowInternet]

That 576mb is the TOTAL available, most of which is taken up by Android itself. Navigon should only take about 20mb or so - the maps should be on the SD card...

The maps are on the SD card and Navigon is only taking 19.56MB. If I go into manage applications the total MB by the apps is about 80MB. Is there any other place for me to check what is taking so much space apart from Android ? I can't even listen to any songs because I get a message to free up some space.

[dakota]

As a matter of interest - is there a newer model on the horizon for SA soon (like the Incredible) or is the Desire likely to be the flagship phone here for a while to come?

Lol, calm down, the Desire was only released end of March. Going to be HTC's flagship phone until at least October possibly longer.

The Incredible is basically the US version of the Desire. Only major differences is that it has 8GB of internal flash memory (Desire has none), a 8mp camera (5mp for Desire), built for a CDMA network and has 512mb ram (576mb for Desire).

The other big HTC phone is the EVO 4g which is also a US only phone built for Sprint with WiMAX connectivity and a 4.3" LCD screen (Desire has a higher quality AMOLED screen).

Based on the current crop of flagship smartphones I reckon the Desire is the best, but having just bought one I may be slightly biased :love:.

[dlk001]

After getting annoyed with low memory, I decided to root my device, installed MoDaCo Custom ROM. Now, I can install all I want into the SDCard.

I must say rooting the Desire is a test of patience compared to installing customs ROMs on Windows Mobile phone. MoDaCo Custom ROM runs smoother than stock ROM.

[DAE_JA_VOO]

What kind of battery life have you guys been getting? A few days ago, I had TERRIBLE battery life, I managed about 40 minutes of Wifi based web browsing and my battery lost a GOOD chunk of power. After about 2 days of optimizing, I'm probably going to be getting 2 days out of a single charge :)

[kvi]

everything you want to know about your desires battery

just remember when you first get your phone you WILL be playing with it every spare second you have it, and of course battery life is going to be crazy short. ive had mine a couple weeks now and only use it when i need to and batt life is like 2 days now :)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=669497

[armitage]

Well i've had my phone now for about 5 days.
Impressions so far is that its a fewking awesome phone. The best i've ever had. Photos are great, system is very nice and responsive and after unlocking other markets (market enabler app) I've found so many apps that are just plain fun :P.

Few grips.

Contact setup is a pita. Took me a good 4 hours so far to set up all my contacts and get them linked to their respective gtalk and fb profiles.
App saving to sd card only is a ****ty idea. I had the phone for about 2 days and I was already getting messages that the sd card was full and I had to uninstall apps.
No tooltips. You have to really test everything before you know what it does. There are no info screens almost anywhere to tell you how to do things (linked contacts, upload photos).
Battery life at the moment is a pain. I get about 3 hours of usage before it dies on me :( Wonder what i am doing wrong.
If you want some peace and quiet the only way to turn off some features like gtalk is to completely turn the internet and wifi connections.
Afrikaans language settings is non existant :/ (It takes me roughly twice as long to type a message in afrikaans than in english since I have to teach the autocorrect that the words I type are not in fact errors).
No easy way to kill an app without using another app.

The grips I have are small and puny though compared to the pluses of it :)

[Fudzy]

All these messages about SD cards being full, how big are the SD cards that you're using?

[Mr Feesh]

Well i've had my phone now for about 5 days.
Impressions so far is that its a fewking awesome phone. The best i've ever had. Photos are great, system is very nice and responsive and after unlocking other markets (market enabler app) I've found so many apps that are just plain fun :P.

Did you have to root your phone to use the MarketEnablerApp??

@Fudzy -4gb micro sd

[rorz0r]

It's not the SD card getting full, it's the built in phone memory. You can either root or wait for android 2.2/froyo to get the ability to install apps to SD and then you shouldn't have any space problems.

[alt146]

Well i've had my phone now for about 5 days.
Impressions so far is that its a fewking awesome phone. The best i've ever had. Photos are great, system is very nice and responsive and after unlocking other markets (market enabler app) I've found so many apps that are just plain fun :P.

Few grips.

Contact setup is a pita. Took me a good 4 hours so far to set up all my contacts and get them linked to their respective gtalk and fb profiles.
App saving to sd card only is a ****ty idea. I had the phone for about 2 days and I was already getting messages that the sd card was full and I had to uninstall apps.
No tooltips. You have to really test everything before you know what it does. There are no info screens almost anywhere to tell you how to do things (linked contacts, upload photos).
Battery life at the moment is a pain. I get about 3 hours of usage before it dies on me :( Wonder what i am doing wrong.
If you want some peace and quiet the only way to turn off some features like gtalk is to completely turn the internet and wifi connections.
Afrikaans language settings is non existant :/ (It takes me roughly twice as long to type a message in afrikaans than in english since I have to teach the autocorrect that the words I type are not in fact errors).
No easy way to kill an app without using another app.

The grips I have are small and puny though compared to the pluses of it :)

Agree with most of those gripes, but they are pretty small. To get your battery life up, turn off wifi when you're not using it and turn down your screen brightness when you're indoors. There's a power management widget that makes this very easy to do. If you use the phone heavily the battery takes a plummet, but it does seems to get s bit stronger after 3-4 full charges and I'm getting about 24 hours of moderate usage.

To kill an app without using a dedicated app killer, go to to application management in the settings menu and select the application you want to kill. There should be a force close option. Dedicated task killers just make it easier to tell what is using all your memory and kill it straght away. That said, Androids handling of multitasking and memory is very elegant, you shouldnt every have to close apps yourself. Even with the RAM full, the phone still flies and android closes apps in the background on its own when you want to open something new.

I wish you could uninstall some of the apps that come on the phone - limited onboard memory is a bit of a bummer and I really dont need a twitter client, never mind two of them.

[alt146]

Did you have to root your phone to use the MarketEnablerApp??

@Fudzy -4gb micro sd

There's a link in the official android thread to the app. No root required, but it doesnt seem to work for everyone.

[HapticSimian]

Few grips.
"Gripes", maybe? :p

App saving to sd card only is a ****ty idea. I had the phone for about 2 days and I was already getting messages that the sd card was full and I had to uninstall apps.
I'm sure you mean to phone memory only...

No tooltips. You have to really test everything before you know what it does. There are no info screens almost anywhere to tell you how to do things (linked contacts, upload photos).
Agreed, but rather figuring stuff out myself than having constant annoying popups once I've got to know everything inside-out. As an aside, the phone's full manual is on the SD card in .pdf. Came across it by starting the PDF Viewer on the phone, and then seeing an unfamiliar PDF on the SD.

Battery life at the moment is a pain. I get about 3 hours of usage before it dies on me :( Wonder what i am doing wrong.
Keep phone on GSM in areas with bad 3G reception - I find the constant hunting for 3G reception at my office a huge drain. Also, keep WiFi & sync off unless you're actually using it.

If you want some peace and quiet the only way to turn off some features like gtalk is to completely turn the internet and wifi connections.
You can go into 'Accounts and Sync' in 'Settings' and deselect on a per-account basis what should & what shouldn't be syncing.

Afrikaans language settings is non existant :/ (It takes me roughly twice as long to type a message in afrikaans than in english since I have to teach the autocorrect that the words I type are not in fact errors).
Aye. I also don't want my dictionary flooded with Afrikaans, though. So if I need to bomb a moedertaal-sms I just switch off error correction on the keyboard - it's a couple of clicks in from the little gear-button, bottom-left of the keyboard layouts.

No easy way to kill an app without using another app.
...and there's no need for killing apps in Android - it's bright enough to handle the task itself. Things like navigation apps and bigger games that would be a major drain on the battery even in the background do have menu options to exit them.

The grips I have are small and puny though compared to the pluses of it :)
Abso-friggen-lutely.

[Stefan!]

I have not yet set up my vodacom internet and mms settings. I have only been using wifi.

For some reason my weather seems to be up to date the whole time??

Where does the info come from? I am sure my internet setting has not been set up since i cant send mmses yet. On 3g watchdog it says i have used like 31Kb?

[Ecco]

I have not yet set up my vodacom internet and mms settings. I have only been using wifi.

For some reason my weather seems to be up to date the whole time??

Where does the info come from? I am sure my internet setting has not been set up since i cant send mmses yet. On 3g watchdog it says i have used like 31Kb?

You can turn the automatic updates for the weather app off.

[Ecco]

Anybody found a good pouch for the phone? or Screen protector?

[Stefan!]

You can turn the automatic updates for the weather app off.

Yeah, what i meant is: If my internet settings is not set up and i am not connected to wifi where does it get the weather update?

[rorz0r]

Anybody found a good pouch for the phone? or Screen protector?

On bidorbuy there's one of those silicone type covers that covers the back for R55.
I've ordered the full body invisibleshield from invisibleprotectors.co.za.

[Ecco]

On bidorbuy there's one of those silicone type covers that covers the back for R55.
I've ordered the full body invisibleshield from invisibleprotectors.co.za.

I have an invisible shield on my Nintendo DS. It does the job, however i am not overly impressed by the finish - its a bit orange peel like.

Please let us know what your thoughts are once you get it.

[lanman]

How long do you guys think we will get froy update after hopeful release date of 19th? Maybe if we flood Leaf with emails demanding it we can speed things up? Heard some Magic users waited a LOOOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGG time for updates.

[larkia]

On bidorbuy there's one of those silicone type covers that covers the back for R55.
I've ordered the full body invisibleshield from invisibleprotectors.co.za.

I am not too keen on the silicone type covers. You tend to get dust etc caught up in-between the phone and the cover that could scratch the phone. I didn't want to wait and got quite a nice leather pouch that fits the desire perfectly. MTN R150. It slides in from the top and has a drawstring approach to pull the phone out again.

@rorz0r - The invisibleShield seems a bit pricey but would like to hear about it one you get it

[armitage]

Anybody btw found a good website that compares the different roms that you can get for android 2.1? Woke up yesterday with the phone in the bootloader screen and thought it GSOD (Google screen of death) on me. Piqued my interest to get the phone rooted.

From what Ive read its not that complicated to get your phone rooted. You have to do a few things in the right order but shouldn't be that hard.
From there was thinking of using a backup program that I found (can't remember name now) once the phone has been rooted so that I can just get all my settings and info on an image which I then restore once the new rom is on.
I doubt HTC will update the desire quickly with the new android version once its out (think they took quite a while to update the hero to 2.1 if I remember correctly), so having the phone rooted and rommed would be the first step to quickly jump on the new android version once it comes out.

G-Mote is an awesome program :P Oh and the novelty factor of Google skymaps and the barcode scanner programs is well worth it :P


Current favourties.
G-Mote
Widget to turn off wifi, gps, 3g and Intenet.
Advanced task killer.
Opera mini, though its not as good as I hoped it would be.
Talk for google is awesome since all my friends only use that exclusively.
Maps since I get lost a lot :P

The friend stream is .... awright. Not that great methinks. Feels very much like a gee wiz app that they just made to show that the integration with fb or other social sites.


p.s. Soz about the grips spelling :P

[rorz0r]

My compass seems to be a bit screwed... Was ok initially but now I have no idea. When you turn the phone the compass turns with it then sometimes just flips around to a random place. I got a message saying abnormal magnetic field detected (was holding it in my hand and didn't have anything funny on me or near me, outside) and that I must calibrate. When you calibrate it it just tells you to wave the phone in a figure 8 and this hasn't helped.
This means that skymaps, layar etc don't work correctly.

[Kuga]

Anybody found a good pouch for the phone? or Screen protector?

http://www.pdair.com/

[rorz0r]

Tried opera mini after using it on my nokia. Actually like dolphin browser HD a LOT more. The "chat" even works on facebook (not 100% but workable).

[Ecco]

Widget to turn off wifi, gps, 3g and Intenet.


Which widget is this?

[rorz0r]

"Power control" probably.

[balrog]

Hi! Finally got my Desire today..

Decided first thing I needed to do was get some protection for my baby :-)

I did not want to order on-line and have to wait for delivery, so I went to Vodaworld, the Vodashop on the right as you enter Vodaworld, they have these"e-style" pouches. You just slip the phone in, more a "slip-case" than a pouch really. Anyway, they look quite thin and tall, made of leather with white stitching all around, and they fit the Desire PERFECTLY! It also has a tab at the back to get the phone out, as once it is in, it is nice and tight, Not TOO tight, just enough so you feel the Desire sits safely inside, but not too tight to damage it. But because the case is so deep, you will have a heck of a time getting it out again - therefore the coolness-factor of the little pull-out tab.

It is very nice, as the phone sits all the way inside, with only the very top visible - less change of it getting damaged or scratched.

Just a note, seems there are ones that are a bit deeper than the others, although there is no indication on the packaging indicating depth or anything...

This will tide me over very well until there is a really nice "made-for-Desire" silicone case available locally.

O yeah, was R109.

[SirFooK'nG]

Anybody found a good pouch for the phone? or Screen protector?

Available soon, I have mine on pre-order:
http://www.invisibleprotectors.co.za/invisibleshield-shop/htc/invisibleshield-full-body-for-htc-desire.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJH3xZ5ZDwE&feature=player_embedded

[gregmcc]

Been thinking of getting one of these - the only downside is that my Garmin Mobile XT won't run in it.

What is navigon like for the SA maps? Google maps is out as I don't want to be online all the time. Any other good offline navigation software I should be looking at?

[alt146]

Available soon, I have mine on pre-order:
http://www.invisibleprotectors.co.za/invisibleshield-shop/htc/invisibleshield-full-body-for-htc-desire.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJH3xZ5ZDwE&feature=player_embedded

I love how all you see in the product image is... an HTC Desire. I suppose it must be THAT invisible lol.

Dolphin HD is pretty good, I like the gestures, although it sometimes behaves a bit odd when your bookmarks require some type of postdata. Lack of multitouch just killed Opera Mini for me, why would I want to constantly tap on the screen and use little zoom buttons when I could just pinch to zoom?

And google goggles is awesome - taking a photo of stuff and having a relevant website load is frikking sweet when you're showing the phone off :D I can attest that it can identify most brands of beer sold in south africa :P

[dlk001]

Been thinking of getting one of these - the only downside is that my Garmin Mobile XT won't run in it.

What is navigon like for the SA maps? Google maps is out as I don't want to be online all the time. Any other good offline navigation software I should be looking at?

I'm using Navigon on my Desire and so far, its on par with Garmin Mobile and Tomtom.. I do like the fresh look of Navigon. I'm also installing NDrive, Copilot and iGo tonight and will compare them.

[rorz0r]

I tried the brut(.al) "launcher" for google maps navigation. It works as in shows your route and follows you along it. It also recalculates when you go off the route and speech even works however it's VERY untalkative. It also comes in rather late, as in "Turn right. Oh shi...". So if you have it up on your dashboard where you can see it google maps navigation in SA is probably good enough to realistically use but don't rely on voice instructions.

[Fudzy]

Anyone played around with controlling your PC from the phone? I've found Remotedroid & androidVNC, both are very impressive.

[Fudzy]

Anyone played around with controlling your PC from the phone? I've found Remotedroid & androidVNC, both are very impressive.

[armitage]

Been using Gmote for a mouse and VLC player. Works great. Will try those two apps tonight :)
Got Remote RDP Lite to work though its a bit useless as its so hard to control the mouse I find. Also it only does 1 connection which kinda limits its usefulness(full paid version has more connections enabled).

Found my first show stopper bug last night.

I've been sorting through my contacts and last night added a new contact (does anyone know of a way to move a contact from sim and have it made into a full contact with address, other numbers and groups?). After I added the contact (the person had no email addy though I don't know if thats relevant) and after a few minutes the phone just deletes the new contact. It did this about 3 times before I got demoer in and stopped trying.
Later on I tried adding the contact through Gmail in a browser on my pc and syncing it back to the phone. That has worked it seems.... Contact still on my phone this morning.

[alt146]

Very useful App - Gesture Search, plus the Gesture Search Bar. Find anything on your phone by drawing the first letter or two on the screen. Must easier than scrolling through your million apps for that one you dont use often enough to put on a home screen.

[gregmcc]

I'm using Navigon on my Desire and so far, its on par with Garmin Mobile and Tomtom.. I do like the fresh look of Navigon. I'm also installing NDrive, Copilot and iGo tonight and will compare them.

Thanks - good to know since I see Garmin Mobile XT is not coming out for the Android and its been discontinued.

[alt146]

Hmm, installed an interesting app called Y5, looks pretty useful - automatically switches your wifi on when you are nearby a network you have previously connected to, then off again when you leave. Will see how well it works over the next week.

[kvi]

not sure why everyone is so keen on trying to prevent scratches etc. my hero after a year, doesnt have a scratch. my nexus after months doesnt have a single scratch, back or front, same with my desire which ive had a month. these things are more unscratchable than iphone was. obviously im not talking about a hard drop damage. but you will not see a scratch on these screens ever. and i use mine HARD

[SirFooK'nG]

not sure why everyone is so keen on trying to prevent scratches etc. my hero after a year, doesnt have a scratch. my nexus after months doesnt have a single scratch, back or front, same with my desire which ive had a month. these things are more unscratchable than iphone was. obviously im not talking about a hard drop damage. but you will not see a scratch on these screens ever. and i use mine HARD

Dude, you must see what my Omnia looks like! I'm on my second screen protector!

[kvi]

omnia yes.... lets see how many people have htc android damage???

[alt146]

not sure why everyone is so keen on trying to prevent scratches etc. my hero after a year, doesnt have a scratch. my nexus after months doesnt have a single scratch, back or front, same with my desire which ive had a month. these things are more unscratchable than iphone was. obviously im not talking about a hard drop damage. but you will not see a scratch on these screens ever. and i use mine HARD

I put one of those el-cheapo DIY screen protectors on mine that was lying around the house - it came off after a day, but while it was on, fingerprints on the screen were way less visible. I would get a screen protector for that alone. After just typing an sms or scrolling through a couple of menues the screen looks really dirty.

[kvi]

screen protectors to me feel like when someone buys a new device or gadget and refuses to remove the factory installed protective film layer... my business partner still has the protective plastic layer on his jeeps radio (which he has had on for over a year now lol)

[Mr Feesh]

Are all the screen protectors similar or is it worth paying more for the Invisible shield, costs 190.

[lanman]

Does anyone maybe have any news on android 2.2 for the desire?

[balrog]

Hi All

What do you find is the use of the HTC Sync app on the memory card? It seems it is for sync-ing with Outlook, but I sync contacts and e-mail over my 3G connection via Exchange connection.

Are there any other benefits of the app that I may not be aware of?

Thanks :-)

[HapticSimian]

Hi All

What do you find is the use of the HTC Sync app on the memory card? It seems it is for sync-ing with Outlook, but I sync contacts and e-mail over my 3G connection via Exchange connection.

Are there any other benefits of the app that I may not be aware of?

Thanks :-)

App installer. You can still copy the .apk to the SD card & install off the phone via a file manager instead of using HTC sync though.. Also, it installs the drivers you need to access the phone as an external disc, if I recall.

[balrog]

App installer. You can still copy the .apk to the SD card & install off the phone via a file manager instead of using HTC sync though.. Also, it installs the drivers you need to access the phone as an external disc, if I recall.

Thanks enigma - cool, then I have no use for it. I installed a free app from the Market to install .apk's. Also, my laptop (Win XP) detected the Desire as an external drive (with the "Disk" option selected of course :-) ) without me having installed HTC Sync.

So it does not seem like I am missing anything :-). So good to be rid of iTunes! Wooohooooo! :-)

[alt146]

Hi All

What do you find is the use of the HTC Sync app on the memory card? It seems it is for sync-ing with Outlook, but I sync contacts and e-mail over my 3G connection via Exchange connection.

Are there any other benefits of the app that I may not be aware of?

Thanks :-)

I *think* it also contains the drivers needed for the computer to recognise your phone when you connect it under "internet sharing mode". I havent tried to use my phone as a modem on anyone else's computer so I'm not sure.

[cyb3rt]

Hi guys, been loving this phone, would recommend it to ANYBODY!! Just a quick question, I have installed ChompSMS, and set it as my default, but I still get 2 notifications from both chomp and the standard message thing. Any way I can disable the message thing that comes with the phone?

[kvi]

yeah open your standard message app... then press menu (hardware button) and go to settings and disable notifications.

ps.. why chomp? i vote handcent !!!!! as best

[SlowInternet]

I put one of those el-cheapo DIY screen protectors on mine that was lying around the house - it came off after a day, but while it was on, fingerprints on the screen were way less visible. I would get a screen protector for that alone. After just typing an sms or scrolling through a couple of menues the screen looks really dirty.

My first time with a touchscreen and I must admit that I hate it when the screen looks so dirty.

Does anybody know how to delete duplicate contacts in the phonebook in batches ? I don't want to sit and delete them 1 by 1. Don't know what I did but I have a LOT of duplicate contacts. Is there any app that one can use to delete the duplicates?

I must admit the Desire is the best choice I've ever made. :D

[lanman]

Did anyone also receive pre-installed mp3's on their sd card? Got my phone from vodacom...

[Seeyou]

Hey guys

Aaaaaaalmost decided to get one of these puppies. Just wanted to know, does stuff like Google Maps Navigation work in South Africa, with voice turn by turn etc?

[cyb3rt]

yeah open your standard message app... then press menu (hardware button) and go to settings and disable notifications.

ps.. why chomp? i vote handcent !!!!! as best

aha! knew it was some place obvious, still getting used to the android way of doing things :) Thanks mate

Using Handcent now as well, was just playing around with some different ones to compare..

[kvi]

Hey guys

Aaaaaaalmost decided to get one of these puppies. Just wanted to know, does stuff like Google Maps Navigation work in South Africa, with voice turn by turn etc?

unfortunately its not working here yet. google has only licensed it to work in the US. obviously they having legal issues with it around the world... but if you root and run custom rom then it will work, and then
it works pretty sweet. however i still use regular google maps with directions just fine. still gets me there pretty good. im just not being spoonfed with a voice as i drive :)

[ColinR]

Does anybody know how to delete duplicate contacts in the phonebook in batches ? I don't want to sit and delete them 1 by 1. Don't know what I did but I have a LOT of duplicate contacts. Is there any app that one can use to delete the duplicates?

Are they definitely duplicates? Or just the contacts from different places (Phone, Google, Facebook), if they are from different sources, you want to link them as one contact. Then your phone will display the 3 contacts as one contact. Otherwise, let Google's contact merge duplicates for you.

[duncan1a]

Hi guys, been loving this phone, would recommend it to ANYBODY!! Just a quick question, I have installed ChompSMS, and set it as my default, but I still get 2 notifications from both chomp and the standard message thing. Any way I can disable the message thing that comes with the phone?

go into your standard messaging app and disable notifications in the settings.

[roadhog]

Can anyone please tell me if the desire comes with a sd card from vodacom? If so, how big?

I got mine today from Cellucity and it have a 4GB microsd card

[Seeyou]

unfortunately its not working here yet. google has only licensed it to work in the US. obviously they having legal issues with it around the world... but if you root and run custom rom then it will work, and then
it works pretty sweet. however i still use regular google maps with directions just fine. still gets me there pretty good. im just not being spoonfed with a voice as i drive :)

Really? That sucks to read.. it was one of the selling points for me. Are there any other alternatives, or just the usual crop of $300 GPS apps from other vendors?

Also, how involved / risky is the whole rooting process? I believe the Desire was only successfully rooted recently? Whenever I read an article that tells me there's no way to back up or recover from an error during the process, I get a little nervous :)

[Knersus]

Did anyone also receive pre-installed mp3's on their sd card? Got my phone from vodacom...

Yeah, I also got the standard mp3s on Vodacom. it feels a bit like the std mp3s and photos that come with windows... just good enough to test that it works.

[poffle]

got my phone yesterday and its freaking awesome! <3 it to much.
Still busy browsing for apps etc. Im currently using "Power Control" to adjust brightness/wifi/bluetooth/sync, easy 1 touch on and off and APNdroid for turning on and off 3g.
Is there a better program with all these in one? I tried Quick settings but it's not 1 touch.

also: What are these and what program do you use to read them ? http://www.parallelkingdom.com/img/AndroidBarcodeLink.png

[alt146]

got my phone yesterday and its freaking awesome! <3 it to much.
Still busy browsing for apps etc. Im currently using "Power Control" to adjust brightness/wifi/bluetooth/sync, easy 1 touch on and off and APNdroid for turning on and off 3g.
Is there a better program with all these in one? I tried Quick settings but it's not 1 touch.

also: What are these and what program do you use to read them ? http://www.parallelkingdom.com/img/AndroidBarcodeLink.png

Those are QR codes - use the barcode scanner app to scan them

[poffle]

cool tx

[Knersus]

So how is everyone's battery life coming along? I am close to two full days on a single charge. I'm wondering if it gets any better than that...

[alt146]

So how is everyone's battery life coming along? I am close to two full days on a single charge. I'm wondering if it gets any better than that...

That's pretty good actually. It's a smartphone and like every other smartphone you're not going to get better than around a charge a day on average. Getting about a day myself, with about two hours of listening to music and reading pdfs, plus intermittant IMing and web browsing.

[dlk001]

So how is everyone's battery life coming along? I am close to two full days on a single charge. I'm wondering if it gets any better than that...

I charged this morning. Had a 10min call, 2 min of internet, facebook browsing. The bat is at 84%.

[poffle]

3 hours (first charge) . Turned it on at 7pm last night and its lasted until now. I've been customizing, installing, uninstalling apps. downloading, browsing a little and its about 3% left :p

[cyb3rt]

Mine is still ****, just getting through the day, take it off charge at around 6am and then it usually starts moaning about the bat at around 7-8pm...

[SlowInternet]

Just getting a day at the moment

[armitage]

Getting about 12 hours at the moment. Though I guess thats just because ive done most of my installs and playing around.

I use my cellphone as an alarm and I really can't get it to wake me up. Ive installed two extra programs that I make sure run before i go to bed and still no alarm goes off. If this happens again tomorrow i'll have to go buy a new alarm clock just to duplicate the functionality that the phone should have by default. It's strange since everytime I do a test on the alarm settings (set the alarm to go off in 2 minutes) it works. Weird.

Oh, found a solution to the contact disappearing problem. If you make a new contact and it disappears after a while then go to your contacts page in mail.google.com and add a new contact with the persons details. Sync your phone and the contact should be on your phone then.

[rorz0r]

My alarm works fine...

[alt146]

Getting about 12 hours at the moment. Though I guess thats just because ive done most of my installs and playing around.

I use my cellphone as an alarm and I really can't get it to wake me up. Ive installed two extra programs that I make sure run before i go to bed and still no alarm goes off. If this happens again tomorrow i'll have to go buy a new alarm clock just to duplicate the functionality that the phone should have by default. It's strange since everytime I do a test on the alarm settings (set the alarm to go off in 2 minutes) it works. Weird.

Oh, found a solution to the contact disappearing problem. If you make a new contact and it disappears after a while then go to your contacts page in mail.google.com and add a new contact with the persons details. Sync your phone and the contact should be on your phone then.

Are you using any task killer apps? Apparently they mess with the alarm program. Mine is working fine as an alarm, it's really loud.

Also, found a bit of a bug - if you're in an SSD menu (or whatever they're called - *111# type things) and you send a blank reply, the phone gets stuck. So be careful not to do that.

[Wag]

Are you using any task killer apps? Apparently they mess with the alarm program. Mine is working fine as an alarm, it's really loud.

Also, found a bit of a bug - if you're in an SSD menu (or whatever they're called - *111# type things) and you send a blank reply, the phone gets stuck. So be careful not to do that.

Tried it with mine and it's fine.

[SirFooK'nG]

I'm so peeved off... I have to work through Vodacom Corporate for my contract, Requested a quote for the desire 2 weeks ago. The person I was dealing with took time off for studying, nobody could access her email to get my quote:( Then eventually I get the thing last week thursday, sign it off and promptly fax the return. Only to later get a call that I need to sign a new quote as they omitted the pay in amount. Arrrrrr. Now the paperwork is done, there are no freakin Desires in stock!!!!!!!!!!! Have to wait for the end of May ... big ass WTF !?!?

[Wag]

I'm so peeved off... I have to work through Vodacom Corporate for my contract, Requested a quote for the desire 2 weeks ago. The person I was dealing with took time off for studying, nobody could access her email to get my quote:( Then eventually I get the thing last week thursday, sign it off and promptly fax the return. Only to later get a call that I need to sign a new quote as they omitted the pay in amount. Arrrrrr. Now the paperwork is done, there are no freakin Desires in stock!!!!!!!!!!! Have to wait for the end of May ... big ass WTF !?!?

...and they still expect you to be a proudly south african citizen.

[SirFooK'nG]

Just dissapointed. Thought I would have my phone by today :(

[alt146]

Just dissapointed. Thought I would have my phone by today :(

Shame bud. A friend of mine is also looking to get a Desire sometime soon, I hope they bring in a boatload of stock else there are going to be plenty of disappointed people.

[poffle]

Vodacom are fsken useless and their contracts are quite *** aswell. I phoned 6 vodashops in the westrand area, 0 stock. I phone 1 mtn shop at clearwater, I signed the contract and had my phone within 4 hours. R339 for R200 airtime + phone. sweet

[Obelix]

Vodacom are fsken useless and their contracts are quite *** aswell. I phoned 6 vodashops in the westrand area, 0 stock. I phone 1 mtn shop at clearwater, I signed the contract and had my phone within 4 hours. R339 for R200 airtime + phone. sweet

I wish i could say the same. Ive filled in all my paperwork at MTN direct in PE 3 weeks ago and now just get the run-around re my phone.....Maybe its time to change service providers.....

[Thugscub]

Guys look at Android ZA on the net lots of info.

[Saajid]

Hey guys. I've been trying to get hold of the HTC Desire for weeks now, to no avail. My local MTN SP shop claims that MTN hasn't released it yet - it isn't listed on the system. I told them it has already been advertised online on the MTNSP website (http://www.mtnsp.co.za/shop/RetailSpecials/Pages/HTCDeals.aspx), but they still can't seem to get hold of it.

What is the fastest way of getting the HTC Desire? I don't mind signing a contract. Does anybody know which MTNSP shops have them?

Can I purchase it online from the MTN website?

[Ecco]

Hey guys. I've been trying to get hold of the HTC Desire for weeks now, to no avail. My local MTN SP shop claims that MTN hasn't released it yet - it isn't listed on the system. I told them it has already been advertised online on the MTNSP website (http://www.mtnsp.co.za/shop/RetailSpecials/Pages/HTCDeals.aspx), but they still can't seem to get hold of it.

What is the fastest way of getting the HTC Desire? I don't mind signing a contract. Does anybody know which MTNSP shops have them?

Can I purchase it online from the MTN website?

I didnt get mine from a store. But a guy i know got his from MTN Ghandi Square branch (JHB CBD). Put in his paperwork in the morning, had his phone in the late afternoon. I thought that was pretty quick.

[kvi]

today google officially announced 2.2

Today at I/O, our annual developer conference, we announced Android 2.2. Codenamed Froyo (for frozen yogurt), this seventh update to the Android platform brings some great new functionality to users (things like making your handset a portable hotspot and support for Adobe Flash within the browser), along with new tools for developers
We've been thrilled by the adoption of the platform over the past year and a half. Every day, our partners sell more than 100,000 new Android-based handsets, and there are now more than 180,000 active Android developers who have contributed more than 50,000 apps now available in Android Market—up 12,000 since last month alone!

[Seeyou]

So according to what I've gathered, Google releases the official Android 2.2 firmware, then each handset manufacturer releases its own modified version of that firmware, and then the mobile operators release their own versions of that? Is that correct? Sounds like it would take a damn long time for the update to eventually get through to the end user.

If a phone is unlocked (not network specific) - would one update with the manufacturers specific firmware, or would you have to be using the firmware of whichever operator you're using the phone on? This is all rather new to me, coming from an iPhone where it's about as complicated as logging into iTunes and clicking install :)

[Seeyou]

Anyone?

[Knersus]

So according to what I've gathered, Google releases the official Android 2.2 firmware, then each handset manufacturer releases its own modified version of that firmware, and then the mobile operators release their own versions of that? Is that correct? Sounds like it would take a damn long time for the update to eventually get through to the end user.

If a phone is unlocked (not network specific) - would one update with the manufacturers specific firmware, or would you have to be using the firmware of whichever operator you're using the phone on? This is all rather new to me, coming from an iPhone where it's about as complicated as logging into iTunes and clicking install :)

Ya as far as I know HTC will update the firmware with the new 2.2 and once it's been tested with their HTC sense and other customizations it can be pushed to the phones. I have no idea how long that will take but I don't expect it to be soon.

Well at the moment the whole phone is still brand new to me, so I'm just enjoying what I got now and will be happy to get the 2.2 update when it eventually comes, but am in no hurry at the moment.

[Knersus]

I'm so peeved off... I have to work through Vodacom Corporate for my contract, Requested a quote for the desire 2 weeks ago. The person I was dealing with took time off for studying, nobody could access her email to get my quote:( Then eventually I get the thing last week thursday, sign it off and promptly fax the return. Only to later get a call that I need to sign a new quote as they omitted the pay in amount. Arrrrrr. Now the paperwork is done, there are no freakin Desires in stock!!!!!!!!!!! Have to wait for the end of May ... big ass WTF !?!?

That is NOT ayoba....

[armitage]

From Engadget this morning it seems HTC will get the incredible and desire first onto 2.2.
From what they say its going to be "second half of the year", so expect it anywhere from June to December... thats a lot of months.

The first roms are already out for 2.2. Buggy as hell and not really usable but at least its compiling. Shouldn't be that long until they get a nice stable build out. Won't be waiting for HTC to get the update to us. Gonna go root the phone and try out a rom the moment I hear they have a good build.

[Seeyou]

'Scuse all the noobish questions but - once you root a phone, does that essentially void the warranty, and there's no going back? You can't restore it to it's original state after rooting?

[Ecco]

I posted this in another thread, but thought might as well post here. Some guys are using BIS (or a BIS enabled SIM) on their nexus ones. I dont know if they actually checked if the phone was using the BB APN and if they were being charged for data or not, or if they were just checking if the sim would work. But nonetheless food for thought.

http://androidforums.com/nexus-one/3...data-plan.html

Anybody got a BIS data plan and willing to test?

[Monkey101]

Is it worth buying this phone cash from places like CaCell or Expansys? Going for just under R6k.

[The Philosopher]

dimension wise, the HTC Desire much bigger than the Iphone?

[lanman]

Can someone please help me with the mms settings for virgin mobile for the desire. Phoned the helpline, but like always they are not of much help...emailed me wm6.5 settings...i tried using mtn mms settings as reference to enter virgin settings from my old phone but as soon as i change the MNC to 10 the APN disappear totally, no traces left behind. If i leave the MNC on 7/6 (standard) the APN doesn't do a vanishing act but still doesn't work. Also how do i choose which connection the phone will use for mms and which for internet??? Any help will be appreciated, been struggling for 2 weeks.

[Losticus]

dimension wise, the HTC Desire much bigger than the Iphone?

It has the exact same width and the thickness is slightly thinner. The length of the Desire is about 0.2 - 0.4 cm longer.

[cyb3rt]

dimension wise, the HTC Desire much bigger than the Iphone?

http://www.gsmarena.com/showpic2.php3?sImg=reviewsimg/htc-desire/gal/gsmarena_005.jpg
http://www.gsmarena.com/showpic2.php3?sImg=reviewsimg/htc-desire/gal/gsmarena_006.jpg

Desire = 119 x 60 x 11.9 mm
iPhone = 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm

Minimal difference

[qwert]

New to this thread - lots of great info here.

I badly want one of these phones, but have seen some bad reports about getting it from Leaf (eg. http://www.arbitraryuser.com/blog/2010/03/05/why-you-probably-shouldnt-buy-an-htc-phone-in-south-africa/ ).

What are the pros and cons of going through Leaf/Lab88 versus someone like Expansys or CaCell? Seems like the import option is way cheaper than the Leaf route (R5900 versus R7500), but how good is the support from the importers if you have a problem? And Warranties? The other option is get in contract via Vodacom on the next upgrade, but I'll have to see how that works out financially still. I'm a BYO phone guy in general.

Any feedback appreciated.

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere - there are a lot of comments on this thread.>>- oops Monkey101 just asked the same basic question no need to answer us both.

[lanman]

Will someone please post their Vodacom MMS settings...

[HapticSimian]

Is it worth buying this phone cash from places like CaCell or Expansys? Going for just under R6k.


New to this thread - lots of great info here.

I badly want one of these phones, but have seen some bad reports about getting it from Leaf (eg. http://www.arbitraryuser.com/blog/2010/03/05/why-you-probably-shouldnt-buy-an-htc-phone-in-south-africa/ ).

What are the pros and cons of going through Leaf/Lab88 versus someone like Expansys or CaCell? Seems like the import option is way cheaper than the Leaf route (R5900 versus R7500), but how good is the support from the importers if you have a problem? And Warranties? The other option is get in contract via Vodacom on the next upgrade, but I'll have to see how that works out financially still. I'm a BYO phone guy in general.

Any feedback appreciated.

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere - there are a lot of comments on this thread.>>- oops Monkey101 just asked the same basic question no need to answer us both.


Cellphone support in SA sucks. Regardless of whether you have a Nokia, an SE, an HTC or any other brand, keep a working old phone as a spare for if/when you need to send yours for repairs.
I'm on my 3rd HTC without a day's hassle, using each for 18 months plus. They're solid phones.
Don't break it.

[qwert]

Thanks Enigma

I haven't ever broken a phone before, and I do have several phones that still work fine to fall back on.

From what I am understanding you wouldn't see much reason to not just go for the imported phones (best deal) - which is the way I'm leaning.

The Leaf phones originally had a crocked version of the Android market - but I understand this is no longer the case right?

[alt146]

Will someone please post their Vodacom MMS settings...

Hope this is what you're looking for:

Name
MMS.Vodacom**

APN
mms.vodacom.net

Proxy
196.6.128.13

Port
8080

Username
<not set>

Password
<not set>

Server
<not set>

MMSC
http://mmsc.vodacom4me.co.za

MMS Proxy
196.6.128.13

MMS Protocol
WAP 2.0

MCC
655

MNC
01

Authentication Type
<not set>

APN Type
mms

[alt146]

Also, HTC has said that all the phones released this year should have Froyo before the end of the year. Hopefully Leaf gets the updates to us quickly after it's released.

[HapticSimian]

Is it worth buying this phone cash from places like CaCell or Expansys? Going for just under R6k.


New to this thread - lots of great info here.

I badly want one of these phones, but have seen some bad reports about getting it from Leaf (eg. http://www.arbitraryuser.com/blog/2010/03/05/why-you-probably-shouldnt-buy-an-htc-phone-in-south-africa/ ).

What are the pros and cons of going through Leaf/Lab88 versus someone like Expansys or CaCell? Seems like the import option is way cheaper than the Leaf route (R5900 versus R7500), but how good is the support from the importers if you have a problem? And Warranties? The other option is get in contract via Vodacom on the next upgrade, but I'll have to see how that works out financially still. I'm a BYO phone guy in general.

Any feedback appreciated.

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere - there are a lot of comments on this thread.>>- oops Monkey101 just asked the same basic question no need to answer us both.


Thanks Enigma

I haven't ever broken a phone before, and I do have several phones that still work fine to fall back on.

From what I am understanding you wouldn't see much reason to not just go for the imported phones (best deal) - which is the way I'm leaning.

The Leaf phones originally had a crocked version of the Android market - but I understand this is no longer the case right?

Keep in mind that phones needing repairs will go back to leaf anyway, as they are the sole distributors of HTC products. So, do what makes financial sense - I didn't have R7k to shell out on a new toy, but I can easily manage the R80 or so p/m that my MTN bill has gone up by.

As for the market, I can still only see free apps - anyone on MTN (non-rooted) that can see paid ones?

[alt146]

As for the market, I can still only see free apps - anyone on MTN (non-rooted) that can see paid ones?

Did you try the market enabler that I linked?

[HapticSimian]

Did you try the market enabler that I linked?

Yes :(
"We have a problem Housten" - if it's the same one. Haven't really played around, though; I suppose I could get the market running on the SDK... just haven't gotten around to it.

[Fafa]

I have an HTC Desire, and so far i have found it to be quite amazing. Just two questions.

I have turned on delivery reports for my sms's but I fail to see how the setting works. Or well i havn't gotten a delivery report yet. I am on vodacom's network.

2ndly I have used the marketenabler app, and I have been able to access the full market. I somehow fail to see the point to having access to the paid for applications though, if you are not really planning on buying any of them? I would just like to know what is the default operator number for vodacom? I have 65501. Just want to confirm that this it the default one :)

[HapticSimian]

I have turned on delivery reports for my sms's but I fail to see how the setting works. Or well i havn't gotten a delivery report yet. I am on vodacom's network. The delivery reports are implemented differently - if you go into 'messages' and long-press on one you've sent, there should be an option like 'message status' or similar. That'll show 'delivered' when it's gone through. There's no separate notification/pop-up.


2ndly I have used the marketenabler app, and I have been able to access the full market. I somehow fail to see the point to having access to the paid for applications though, if you are not really planning on buying any of them? I would just like to know what is the default operator number for vodacom? I have 65501. Just want to confirm that this it the default one :)
Not just paid, but 'protected' apps - some apps have an attribute set that hides them on the free market, even if they don't cost anything. GoogleEarth (although I believe that's now off the market altogether) is the only example I can come up with off the bat.

[Fafa]

Took me about a week with the phone to finally realize which apps to use with it.

Using:
3g watchdog ( just cos this phone is so damn expensive on 3g bandwidth :< )
APNDroid ( for combination with 3g watchdog )
Astro filemanager ( for installing apps manually )
Handcent sms ( smsing tool )
MarketEnabler ( doh? )
RemoteSMS Full ( to turn your sms screen into a website, when you access the phone wirelessly. You can then send sms from a webbrowser )
Ringdroid ( To easier change ringtones )
Syncmypix ( To get contact photos from facebook, without facebook overpopulating my contact list )
Dolphin Browser HD ( for viewing websites )

What I am looking for is a navigation tool, like a GPS app ( Which is either free or "tweaked to be free" )
Also an application so that I can track my phone when it is lost / stolen. ( Also free or "tweaked" )
A good power management widget ( One that can turn on/off my Wifi AND on/off my 3g. ) Currently using Juicedefender + Ulitimatejuice but it doesn't seem to fit my needs. It is more aimed at power saving and not data saving :)
A nice skin pack to customize my home screens ( I havnt had much time to play with this, but im sure there should be packs to do this )

Lastly using the power management widget that is provided. If you turn off background data in your accounts sync option and the automatic sync, the widget will turn on background data automatically if you switch between sync on and off. Anyone who can tell me what is the easiest and most elegant way to manage my data usage in the odd occasion where I MUST use 3g to access a website, so that it doesn't update anything else apart from the data i'm sending to and from the website.

[Monkey101]

Found this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlIv_V2r51c
Seems pretty scratch resistant, even if its not drop resistant :D

[Fudzy]

Found this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlIv_V2r51c
Seems pretty scratch resistant, even if its not drop resistant :D

Geez that must've been some drop.

[Eugene's Mac]

3G watchdog is good, but I find Stats to be better. monitor & set limits for calls, sms, wifi, 2G/3G etc.
APN manager is not really needed since there is a native widget for mobile data.
Why not just use the native Wifi widget and Mobile data widgets?
Where's my droid works nice to locate your phone while on silent and GPS Coordinates .
Mapdroid is free and has offline maps, but no turn by turn navigation.

Just my 2c