TH3_0/\/3
Active Member
Thought it might be a good idea to consolidate all android based HTC phone tips, tricks and other interesting things into one thread.
I'll start with some basic tips I picked up in the first few days of having my G2 (I just got my Magic the other day so I'm in no way a guru yet, ill leave rom flash advice to more experienced hackers for now).
Leaf
HTC is represented locally by Leaf and as such they provide after sales support for HTC in SA. However, the G1 and G2 are exclusive to MTN and Vodacom respectively which means that initially Leaf will not carry as many accessories for the phones, this means that it is up to Vodacom and MTN to provide phone specific accessories such as docking stations (this might change later on). However, Leaf still provides support and I must say they are quite helpful. Furthermore there are also a number of generic HTC accessories that will work on the G1 and G2 (a bit more on that later).
If you are having issues with your G2 before you take it to vodacom it is a good a idea to have it checked out by the leaf technicians at Cedar Square. Vodacom will probably send it off to leaf anyway so it might be quicker to pop around to leaf yourself. (Im sure the same holds for the G1 on MTN).
There are three Leaf shops in JHB: Cedar Square, Fourways and Vodaworld. If you have a technical query and/or need have your phone assessed for RMA I advise you go straight to the Cedar Square shop/office (EDIT: It seems that you void your 2yr Vodacom warranty if Leaf do any work on the phone without it having gone through Vodacom first, this will leave you with the 1 year manufacturers warranty. So rather stick to Vodacom if you know there is hardware damage and ask leaf for advice only), have them take a look and then take it back to MTN/Vodacom if there is something wrong - this may end up taking less time than it would have if you took it to Voda/MTN first. The Fourways mall store seems to stock more accessories though. Haven't been to the Vodaworld store but I'm sure they have technicians ready to help there as well.
Accessories
Accessories specific to the G2 seem to be absent from the local market, I spoke to the guys at leaf and they said Vodacom will eventually stock phone specific accessories. A must have accessory is the 3.5mm jack which is luckily a standard HTC multi port to audio out converter. There are two converters/adapters to choose from: YC A200 and YC A300. I couldn't find any significant differences between the two besides the packaging. Leaf fourways mall stock both with the A200 being R188 and the A300 being +-R250. I got the YC A200. The adapter includes 3.5mm and 2.5mm jacks as well as a extUSB port. I am not sure if there are smaller adapters around in SA (IE with just a 3.5mm, anyone?).
Apps
Another important consideration is the lack of access to that (or the) android market. Part of what makes an android phone so powerful (and indeed what makes the iPhone powerful) is the ability to install apps. Leaf have launched the open market which is a lame attempt at bringing some apps to the local market. An alternative here is to follow nlt's guide on rooting a G2 and getting the market place going, their are similar tuts out for the G1 as well (read up on what you are doing first though and I suggest you play around with the SDK first for while before you start hacking your phone). My firmware flash went perfectly without any hiccups. If you have a laptop or UPS its always a good idea to do firmware flashing / rom hacks connected to one of these in case Eskom failcaeks.
Video Playback
The format should be mp4 or 3GP AND the resolution must be the phone screen res (480x320). Luckily if you Google "Android video converter" you'll find lots of free software to do the job for you. (thanks duncan1a)
Please post any tips, corrections, questions etc. (Also I'm not sure if a similar thread has been started but a search of the forum did not yield any such threads
.)
EDIT: ok so there is another thread going with some tips on what apps to install and so on. It can be found here. Seems my search skills failed me first time I searched for such threads.
I'll start with some basic tips I picked up in the first few days of having my G2 (I just got my Magic the other day so I'm in no way a guru yet, ill leave rom flash advice to more experienced hackers for now).
Leaf
HTC is represented locally by Leaf and as such they provide after sales support for HTC in SA. However, the G1 and G2 are exclusive to MTN and Vodacom respectively which means that initially Leaf will not carry as many accessories for the phones, this means that it is up to Vodacom and MTN to provide phone specific accessories such as docking stations (this might change later on). However, Leaf still provides support and I must say they are quite helpful. Furthermore there are also a number of generic HTC accessories that will work on the G1 and G2 (a bit more on that later).
If you are having issues with your G2 before you take it to vodacom it is a good a idea to have it checked out by the leaf technicians at Cedar Square. Vodacom will probably send it off to leaf anyway so it might be quicker to pop around to leaf yourself. (Im sure the same holds for the G1 on MTN).
There are three Leaf shops in JHB: Cedar Square, Fourways and Vodaworld. If you have a technical query and/or need have your phone assessed for RMA I advise you go straight to the Cedar Square shop/office (EDIT: It seems that you void your 2yr Vodacom warranty if Leaf do any work on the phone without it having gone through Vodacom first, this will leave you with the 1 year manufacturers warranty. So rather stick to Vodacom if you know there is hardware damage and ask leaf for advice only), have them take a look and then take it back to MTN/Vodacom if there is something wrong - this may end up taking less time than it would have if you took it to Voda/MTN first. The Fourways mall store seems to stock more accessories though. Haven't been to the Vodaworld store but I'm sure they have technicians ready to help there as well.
Accessories
Accessories specific to the G2 seem to be absent from the local market, I spoke to the guys at leaf and they said Vodacom will eventually stock phone specific accessories. A must have accessory is the 3.5mm jack which is luckily a standard HTC multi port to audio out converter. There are two converters/adapters to choose from: YC A200 and YC A300. I couldn't find any significant differences between the two besides the packaging. Leaf fourways mall stock both with the A200 being R188 and the A300 being +-R250. I got the YC A200. The adapter includes 3.5mm and 2.5mm jacks as well as a extUSB port. I am not sure if there are smaller adapters around in SA (IE with just a 3.5mm, anyone?).
Apps
Another important consideration is the lack of access to that (or the) android market. Part of what makes an android phone so powerful (and indeed what makes the iPhone powerful) is the ability to install apps. Leaf have launched the open market which is a lame attempt at bringing some apps to the local market. An alternative here is to follow nlt's guide on rooting a G2 and getting the market place going, their are similar tuts out for the G1 as well (read up on what you are doing first though and I suggest you play around with the SDK first for while before you start hacking your phone). My firmware flash went perfectly without any hiccups. If you have a laptop or UPS its always a good idea to do firmware flashing / rom hacks connected to one of these in case Eskom failcaeks.
Video Playback
The format should be mp4 or 3GP AND the resolution must be the phone screen res (480x320). Luckily if you Google "Android video converter" you'll find lots of free software to do the job for you. (thanks duncan1a)
Please post any tips, corrections, questions etc. (Also I'm not sure if a similar thread has been started but a search of the forum did not yield any such threads
.)EDIT: ok so there is another thread going with some tips on what apps to install and so on. It can be found here. Seems my search skills failed me first time I searched for such threads.
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