Newbie

[ShaneBunting]

Hi There! I'm thinking on buying an HTC Touch Pro 2. I'm coming from the 2G iPhone so I'm 100% new to Windows Mobile. I wanned to know things like will it be discontinued soon? What are the best apps? Is it a good quality phone (Something that could rival the iPhone possible? and because of the reviews I've read is it loud and good quality? If you guys could help me about this switch that'd be awesome. Also I'm in the UK so any other notable phones to get? Thanks

 

[dtreo]

I would advise against it for a number of reasons. I'm a longtime WinMo user and have had a TP2 for almost a year. If you're coming from iPhone 2G, I don't think you'll like the stability issues with WinMo. You'd be better off waiting until September or so (maybe sooner) when Windows Phone 7 devices come out. Hopefully it will live up to the potential and be a lot more stable than Windows Mobile 6.X. The TP2 is a great phone and hugely capable with the best keyboard of anything out there, but with the new OS just around the corner you're better off waiting to see what will likely be a better option. New WP7 devices (please let them be good!), a new HP Palm device like a next gen Pre, or a Touch Pro 2 form factor running Android 2.2 would be the best options to consider from iPhone in the next couple of months in my opinion.

 

[kraski]

Hi, Shane!

I'm going to disagree with dtreo. Since you're an iPhone owner, you're a GSM customer. And AT&T's Tilt2 (their version of the TP2) is excellent. Great screen, carrier bloatware was minimized & mostly useful, And data speeds are certainly going to be tons better than what you get now. One of the advantages of the Tilt2 is that it comes with WM 6.5, so there are no hiccups in upgrading from 6.1. And WM 6.5 is very stable. Does your carrier's TP2 come with WM 6.1 or 6.5?

I'm not sure about how the iPhone handles installations or uninstallations. WM (like regular Windows) uses a registry file to retain some settings. When something is installed that requires using that to retain certain settings, it usually requires rebooting the phone to get the OS to recognize the change in settings. I tend to try a lot of things, so I've had a lot of "soft resets" (reboots). And, in the 9 months I've had the phone, I've had only one "hard reset" (return to original factory state, requiring installing everything, again). That was from experimenting with something that was friendlier at installing than it was from uninstalling. That was unusual.

As for being discontinued soon, right now I don't expect it to be. It's a great phone. When WP7 comes out, that might encourage carriers to drop previous WM phones, but I'm not sure WP7 is going to have the initial impact that MS would like. I'm not sure about UK carriers, but US carriers will let you return a phone within 30 days, no charge. So, if your carrier does that, try your carrier's version of the TP2 & see if you like it. If you don't, return it & try something else. If you do, then it doesn't matter if it's discontinued -- you'll have a phone you like with the apps you need before that becomes an issue. My feeling is that, if you have a phone that does what you want & in the way you want it to, then you're golden. Especially if it will do that for a few years. I don't need the "latest & greatest", I need what will do what I need in the way I want it to work, for a period of time. My phone is a tool, not a fashion accessory. So, I'll spend extra on apps & UIs to make my phone work the way I do. When it does that, it'd be pretty dumb to go running off to something else that would only require me spending more money to get back to that result.

 

[dtreo]

Hi, Shane!

I'm going to disagree with dtreo. Since you're an iPhone owner, you're a GSM customer. And AT&T's Tilt2 (their version of the TP2) is excellent. Great screen, carrier bloatware was minimized & mostly useful, And data speeds are certainly going to be tons better than what you get now. One of the advantages of the Tilt2 is that it comes with WM 6.5, so there are no hiccups in upgrading from 6.1. And WM 6.5 is very stable. Does your carrier's TP2 come with WM 6.1 or 6.5?

I'm not sure about how the iPhone handles installations or uninstallations. WM (like regular Windows) uses a registry file to retain some settings. When something is installed that requires using that to retain certain settings, it usually requires rebooting the phone to get the OS to recognize the change in settings. I tend to try a lot of things, so I've had a lot of "soft resets" (reboots). And, in the 9 months I've had the phone, I've had only one "hard reset" (return to original factory state, requiring installing everything, again). That was from experimenting with something that was friendlier at installing than it was from uninstalling. That was unusual.

As for being discontinued soon, right now I don't expect it to be. It's a great phone. When WP7 comes out, that might encourage carriers to drop previous WM phones, but I'm not sure WP7 is going to have the initial impact that MS would like. I'm not sure about UK carriers, but US carriers will let you return a phone within 30 days, no charge. So, if your carrier does that, try your carrier's version of the TP2 & see if you like it. If you don't, return it & try something else. If you do, then it doesn't matter if it's discontinued -- you'll have a phone you like with the apps you need before that becomes an issue. My feeling is that, if you have a phone that does what you want & in the way you want it to, then you're golden. Especially if it will do that for a few years. I don't need the "latest & greatest", I need what will do what I need in the way I want it to work, for a period of time. My phone is a tool, not a fashion accessory. So, I'll spend extra on apps & UIs to make my phone work the way I do. When it does that, it'd be pretty dumb to go running off to something else that would only require me spending more money to get back to that result.

Just to add some thoughts to Kraski's comments, some of which I disagree with about stability and finding apps coming from iPhone 2G...

I just had my TP2 replaced after a series of screen freeze and stalled boot issues that we figured out was trouble with Sense running over WinMo 6.5. I've read a lot of other comments about how Sense running over 6.5 (or 6.1 for that matter) is not as stable as it should/could be. Especially coming from iPhone 2G, Shane, I'd suggest that you would be frustrated with WinMo and the need to manage running background tasks. It's a Catch 22 with WinMo. It runs all kinds of stuff in the background and fully multitasks, but you have to manage it actively to prevent lockups and slowdowns. It's a big reason that I've enjoyed WinMo for many years, but not what most iPhone users would like, in my opinion.

Also, you mention apps and so does Kraski. The apps that I know most iPhone users enjoy are routinely found on Android, but not nearly as much with WinMo. Most WinMo apps are productivity apps, while iPhone and Android have more entertainment/fun apps. If you like those types of apps, then I'd suggest that you move to an Android phone instead. I'm not bashing my own phone, just trying to steer you in the right direction based on your comments.

TP2 with WinMo 6.5 is an HTC Sense experience, which in my opinion runs better over Android than WinMo. If you're not a regular user of fully sync'd Microsoft Exchange features, then I'd go from iPhone 2G to an Android phone running Sense like the HTC Evo or Incredible.

My 2 cents (Shane, 2 pence?).

 

[Cobra46]

So I am new to WM6.5. Just switched from a Blackberry Tour which I loved. Company forced me to switch due to security for their email. Not too happy with WM6.5. Its slow. Is WM7 going to be available for the TP2?

 

[dtreo]

Nope, sorry. Microsoft announced minimum specs for WM7 devices that exceed the TP2, so we'll need to upgrade in the fall.

 

[kraski]

Just to add some thoughts to Kraski's comments, some of which I disagree with about stability and finding apps coming from iPhone 2G...

I just had my TP2 replaced after a series of screen freeze and stalled boot issues that we figured out was trouble with Sense running over WinMo 6.5. I've read a lot of other comments about how Sense running over 6.5 (or 6.1 for that matter) is not as stable as it should/could be. Especially coming from iPhone 2G, Shane, I'd suggest that you would be frustrated with WinMo and the need to manage running background tasks. It's a Catch 22 with WinMo. It runs all kinds of stuff in the background and fully multitasks, but you have to manage it actively to prevent lockups and slowdowns. It's a big reason that I've enjoyed WinMo for many years, but not what most iPhone users would like, in my opinion.

Sorry to hear You've had such issues with WM 6.5. That hasn't been my experience, for the most part. Install the wrong apps or the wrong combination of apps & you can make any OS unstable. Even Apple's various OSes, since they're linux based. And they're all going to have background tasks.

Also, you mention apps and so does Kraski. The apps that I know most iPhone users enjoy are routinely found on Android, but not nearly as much with WinMo. Most WinMo apps are productivity apps, while iPhone and Android have more entertainment/fun apps. If you like those types of apps, then I'd suggest that you move to an Android phone instead. I'm not bashing my own phone, just trying to steer you in the right direction based on your comments.

Before we have Shane heading for another OS (which is also a good one), I think we ought to be asking him what he wants to do with the phone & what types of apps he wants on his phone. I have a number of friends who have iPhones & most of what's on them are productivity apps. Because iOS is easy to use & productivity apps have increased in both quantity & quality since the iPhone first came out. And part of Shane's decision is whether he switches to a different OS or sticks with an Apple product. But one of Shane's questions was about which were the best apps. I think we need to be asking him more about what types of apps he intends to use, rather than putting each OS "in a box" as to what type of apps a user is going to use.

TP2 with WinMo 6.5 is an HTC Sense experience, which in my opinion runs better over Android than WinMo. If you're not a regular user of fully sync'd Microsoft Exchange features, then I'd go from iPhone 2G to an Android phone running Sense like the HTC Evo or Incredible.

My 2 cents (Shane, 2 pence?).

AFAIK, there are ways to shut off Sense without eliminating Touchflo, if Sense really is that unstable over WM 6.5. The Tilt2 variation of the TP2 has been very stable &, unless I'm wrong, was shipped without Sense.

All the modern phone OSes can handle all the normal email protocols, So the choice of whether to stick with an Apple product or switch to a TP2 (or something else) really comes down to three things:

1) Is Shane into tweaking or into just installing what he wants & running it. WM is more customizable than the other phone OSes, but it also takes a bit of getting under the hood (bonnet).

2) Is Shane ready to tweak things, also, to get the best performance? Again something WM phones are better at without "jailbreaking" or voiding warrantees.

3) What apps/type of apps Shane intends to use. Even though pretty much any type of app is available for all the OSes, capabilities vary. For example, the Bible app I use most often was decent under Palm OS, has much more functionality under WM & the versions ported to Android & iOS have fewer functions & resources. The same is true with my calendar app. On the other hand, as you pointed out, some of the "fun" things are much better on iOS &/or Android.

 

[kraski]

So I am new to WM6.5. Just switched from a Blackberry Tour which I loved. Company forced me to switch due to security for their email. Not too happy with WM6.5. Its slow. Is WM7 going to be available for the TP2?

I'm assuming, since you're in this forum section, that they forced you to switch to a TP2. How fast or slow WM 6.5 is on the TP2 will partly depend on what carrier bloatware is installed (that depends on your carrier) & whether it came with WM 6.5 or the phone was upgraded to it. So check the tips & tricks threads for the phone & the OS for things you can do to improve it -- here & at places like ppcgeeks & xda-developers.

If you don't have the inclination to tweak your phone or your company's IT policies don't allow it, I understand your pain. The company I work for has changed CRM software several times since I've been there. Each time, the management & reporting tools improved. But each program suite made doing the things that were being rmanaged & reported on more difficult. To me, that's making doing the things that bring in income harder to do, but we can read great reports about it. :thumbsdn:

 

[monomer]

Hi There! I'm thinking on buying an HTC Touch Pro 2. I'm coming from the 2G iPhone so I'm 100% new to Windows Mobile. I wanned to know things like will it be discontinued soon? What are the best apps? Is it a good quality phone (Something that could rival the iPhone possible? and because of the reviews I've read is it loud and good quality? If you guys could help me about this switch that'd be awesome. Also I'm in the UK so any other notable phones to get? Thanks

As far as I know, no UK mobile network stocks the Touch Pro 2. It had been briefly available but then quickly eclipsed by the HD2 coming on the market. I really like my Touch Pro 2 (I bought it SIM free) and even though I've had a (very nice) Android HTC Desire to play with for a week, personally I preferred my TP2 over it for day-to-day use.

As posters above have already mentioned, it's down to how you use your phone and what your main priorities are. My sister now has the HTC Desire and she loves it. Me? I'm sticking with the Touch Pro 2 for the time being. I'd miss the hardware keyboard!