After years of waiting for a portable computer that can connect to cellular networks, I finally got something close in the form of a T-Mobile Dash / HTC Excalibur.
I was trying to hold out for something that ran a Linux operating system with PC like capabilities, but that never seemed to materialize. So I had to settle for Windoh's. The deal was too good to pass up. The phone was 116USD after rebates, and I get unlimited access to a limited number of sites with T-Zones for 6USD extra a month (on top of my 39.99 voice plan).
I eventually needed to connect to an IMAP email server, which the T-Zones proxy doesn't support, so I upgraded my data plan to the 20USD full internet plan. Surfing without the T-Zones proxy isn't much faster, but it definitely seems more reliable as the proxy would often fail to connect (Overloaded perhaps?).
WM6 runs ok, but I don't really have much to compare it to so I won't rip it too bad. There are some obvious bugs like a malfunctioning alarm clock, non-functional fullscreen mode in Windows Media Player Mobile, IE home page that can't be changed, and a Windows live service that kinda takes over your phone.
A few registry hax will fix most of the issues someone will experience.
First, app unlock
http://mobile.surrealnetworks.com/AppUnlockReg.htm
Now you can edit the registry using this application.
http://mobile.surrealnetworks.com/SDA%20applications/RegEditSTG.cab
To change the homepage for Pocket IE:
HKLM, Software, Microsoft, Internet Explorer, AboutURLs
Change the value of home_0409 to the site you want. Using the editor I mentioned above, you have to enter it in hex if you chose the modify binary data option from the menu, which for http://www.google.com would be:
68 00 74 00 74 00 70 00 3A 00 2F 00 2F 00 77 00 77 00 77 00 2E 00 67 00 6F 00 6F 00 67 00 6C 00 65 00 2E 00 63 00 6F 00 6D
If you select the value using the key in the middle of your nav pad, you should be able to enter it as ASCII text.
The fullscreen problem is fix via another reg hak. Just google for "Windows Media rotate LandscapeMode registry".
You need to app unlock to run applications that are unsigned. (ie applications that were developed by people that didn't pay money to Microsoft) Once that's done you can run cool apps like PocketTV. But wait, isn't MPEG-1 outdated? Kinda, but when you only have 200mhz to run apps MPEG-1 is your best performing option. With PocketTV you can smoothly run 320x240 videos fullscreen at 700kbps. The MPEG4 videos you take with the phone also run fine under WMP at fullscreen but are only 144x176. I enjoy converting Doctor Who episodes to MPEG-1 and watching them on my phone. :-)
Here are the MPEG-1 settings I used:
- 23.976 fps
- 320x240
- MPEG-1
- 74 quality/speed
- video data rate 700kbps variable
- audio 44100, mono, 56kbps
The phone has a nice WiFi chip that connects to my old Netgear 802.11b router perfectly. Once connected, I can have full access to the internet and my home network.
- I can use IE to do anonymous FTP downloads from my local FTP server
- Use Google maps downloadable app for smart phones
- Use Yahoo Go! for email, weather, news, and flikr photos
I can also of course check my email and send videos and pics that I took with my phone over email. Maybe some of you have been doing this for years, but the wow factor is still present for me!
My Moto v188 is sitting on the shelf for now. If I go back to europe again I'll probably leave the Dash at home and use the v188 to avoid data charges, even though they're both quad band.
A few other things... The screen scratches easily. I bought some Fellows/T-Mob universal screen protectors but they're difficult to cut to the perfect size. Next time I'll get them pre-sized for my phone (If I can find them).
A tip about the connector on the bottom (power/headset/usb). They supply you with a splitter that converts the standard USB connector to the slash cut connector HTC uses. You can actually just use a standard USB cable without the splitter! It doesn't look like it fits, but it works perfectly.
The battery lasts about 24 hours almost regardless of what I do. Don't believe the battery meter, as it goes from full to blinking red in a short period of time.
Camera tip: You can press the 1 key while in camera mode to switch back and forth between still shot and video modes.
Get more available RAM by disabling voice command: I set everything that I could to no or none, and now I have an extra 4MB of RAM at all times. :-D
I was looking for an easy way to let my family view MP4 videos that I send from my phone with WMP and came across this KB article.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316992
It references this site, which doesn't look like it has the codec anymore..
http://www.ligos.com/index.php?s=lsx+mpeg
"I received LSX-MPEG for Adobe Premiere as a part of a bundled package. Can I upgrade my version to the latest
release? Our LSX-MPEG line of products was retired in 2002.
Upgrades for LSX-MPEG products are no longer available."
It also references this site, which has a quicktime plugin, not a WMP plugin..
http://www.envivio.com/player.php
Looks like the best way to have your family and friends view the MP4 videos from your phone is to use VLC
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
I now run about 5 different email accounts at once on my phone. Included in this mix are POP, IMAP, and Outlook Web Access Synchronization all set for different automatic update intervals. For the most part it runs reliably, but sometimes I need to kill the messaging process because it stops checking for messages.
The Outlook Web Access Sync doesn't allow you to configure the sync interval, so it can really drain down the battery. My solution to ensure that I can still make it 20 hours on a single charge was to buy an upgraded battery. It's a Simplo battery for the DASH/S620, rated for 3.7VDC and 1050mAh. Works great so far, and I still keep the old battery charged in my laptop bag just in case I need it on long trips. For less than $20 it was a good investment. No more dead battery and blinking red LED!
I got a CellGear USA 5dBi external antenna from eBay. For only $20 I thought the quality was good. It comes with a long cable and magnetic base that allowed me to put it on the roof of my car while driving (it's only 4.5in). The antenna port is located near the camera lens behind the silver mirror. Unfortunately, I didn't notice any difference in signal quality with the antenna connected. I wasn't able to get better range, or more bars in the mountains of West Virginia. Maybe I need the gigantic (40in) 13dBi antenna to see a difference?
I got a 2GB Kingston Micro SD card (SD-C02G JAPAN) for my phone. It works great! I can install programs to it, and use it with the built-in camera. The best part is I can store several full length re-encoded Hollywood movies and a bunch of songs on the card.
Since the phone really doesn't do Linux, I was hoping to at least find a good SSH client for it. However, it looks like you have to pay if you want a good client. I tried zaTelnet, but even that didn't work very well with my non-standard SSH configuration.
I almost forgot to mention one important thing that sometimes gets on my nerves.. no copy and paste!
Update March 2009:
After the recent DST adjustment I noticed all my Outlook meetings are an hour late!
Update June 2009:
This phone is not loud enough, and very difficult to hear while driving. I've tried just the phone, the stereo wired headset, a bluetooth headset, and they're all very quiet even with the volume maxed out. Sometimes I find myself using the speakerphone and putting it right up to my ear, which of course means there is way too much background noise for the people I talk to..
Update Oct 2009:
I had to do a hard reset after the phone refused to call out anymore. Made me remember that I needed to install sktools to cleanup old alarm clock settings.
