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[cool_dude_2049]

Are there any other Windows 7 phones coming to Verizon other than the HTC Trophy? I'm ready to upgrade, but idk if I should jump on the Trophy when it comes out.

 

[Darth Tigris]

The 'new' phones (Arrive, HD7S, Trophy) coming out now should be preloaded with the NoDo firmware so you'll skip the update hell everyone else is going through. Here's Engadget's review of the Trophy. The 'new' phones are really just new to the North American market, they were models show last year and released in the other countries. We haven't gotten to the second generation of WP7 handsets yet.**

I believe the Omnia 7 is a world gsm phone, so it should work with AT&T's 3G network, but don't quote me on that. It has more storage (but no micros slot) than the Focus and has that physical windows button. But the Focus is noticeably lighter and everyone's complaints were about accidentally hitting the search and back buttons anyway. The Omnia 7 will probably get updates faster than the Focus though.

The advantage of getting an unlocked device is you can use the phone outside the USA. An unlocked device is not very useful in the USA where the networks are mostly incompatible and AT&T is about to buy T-Mobile anyway. An unbranded device? What are those? I don't think they sell any unbranded WP7 devices in America. If you do get one, it theoretically means you'll get updates faster. Although many unbranded devices still haven't gotten the update yet.

If you're sure that AT&T or Verizon or any particular network is the one for you then it does make sense to sign a contract. You could get the iPhone 4 for $200, flip it within a week for $400 profit and put that towards the WP7 device you'd like. Anytime you want a new phone, sell your current one and take out the SIM card. I'm happy with AT&T's coverage in my area, and the unlimited data plan they offered to iPhone users, so I was happy to sign a contract—even though I don't keep using an iPhone for very long. That said, if you like to switch networks (maybe for a particular phone), or you're not sure if you'll be happy paying for a smartphone data plan, then don't sign a contract.

Thanks for your insight.

 

[Darth Tigris]

I get so frustrated when I hear of updates landing on other phones. How is it that the Atrix can have an update and it launched 4 months after Windows Phone 7? How can those idiots at the wp7 team claim in a blog post and then on the podcast that everybody plays by the same rules? Do they think we are stupid and won't notice the other phones getting updated?

One update, one device, one carrier. Shouldn't that be much easier?

I've seen more reasonable posts here from you. Calling those people 'idiots' ... is that really necessary?

 

[VanMardigan]

One update, one device, one carrier. Shouldn't that be much easier?

Motorola has multiple phones on multiple carriers. So does Apple. Moto puts on custom UI on their phones and does all the testing internally, and still go through the testing phase that my windows phone is apparently stuck in. Its inexcusable, but that won't stop you from trying to excuse them anyway, I'm sure.

And yes, aside from Joey B, I feel extremely comfortable calling them idiots.

 

[JaggedSac]

What are the odds of the updated Venue Pros landing on Verizon?

 

[MasterLeePhD]

If you can't wait any longer try this walkthrough from XDA.

Link


wpcentral link


After 10mins of trying it finally found it, my phone is updating as we speak.

Omnia 7 is a GoGo!

 

[ElNino]

Motorola has multiple phones on multiple carriers. So does Apple. Moto puts on custom UI on their phones and does all the testing internally, and still go through the testing phase that my windows phone is apparently stuck in. Its inexcusable, but that won't stop you from trying to excuse them anyway, I'm sure.

And yes, aside from Joey B, I feel extremely comfortable calling them idiots.

And Motorola controls the device firmware (while building a custom Google-OS), while Apple controls both the device firmware and OS. Microsoft, unfortunately it seems, controls only the OS while the manufactures all have custom firmware to deal with.

Does that make it better for us? Obviously not, but we really can't compare directly to other phones. For me, update or no update, I'm still happy to be using my phone and I don't see any compelling reason from the Apple or Android (or BlackBerry) camps to make me wish I was there.

 

[Poindexter]

So yeah, my HTC HD7 is dead after a week. RIP. :'(

I posted last week about it resetting and me losing all my stuff. Eventually it randomly reset again and all my stuff was back. Then it kept doing it over the next few days until it eventually wouldn't bring my stuff back. It said I only had 15 mb of total storage and 3mb of free storage. I couldn't send texts or sync anything. None of the default apps even work (zune, email, people, etc). So I finally called Amazon and they're sending me a replacement. I think the SD card inside wiggled loose or something. Bleh.

 

[VanMardigan]

Yeah that sounds like the SD card came loose.

 

[kehs]

I'm still in awe that MS thought it was a good idea to JBOD'ed the first line of Windows 7 phones.

 

[brotkasten]

If you can't wait any longer try this walkthrough from XDA.

Link


wpcentral link


After 10mins of trying it finally found it, my phone is updating as we speak.

Omnia 7 is a GoGo!

http://i.imgur.com/bJLHh.jpg :lol

 

[Ultimatum]

http://i.imgur.com/bJLHh.jpg

:lol

Nice. By the way, on the LG, how long does the battery last if you're listening to music? I'm thinking of using the phone as both a phone and MP3 player, but don't know how viable that really is.

 

[brotkasten]

Nice. By the way, on the LG, how long does the battery last if you're listening to music? I'm thinking of using the phone as both a phone and MP3 player, but don't know how viable that really is.

I can't tell you that, because I'm still using my Zune HD for music. The overall battery life with the Optimus 7 is pretty good, though. The 1500 mAh battery certainly helps.

 

[VanMardigan]

I'm gonna hack the hell out of this phone once the Samsung unbranded phones get offered the updates.

 

[brotkasten]

I'm gonna hack the hell out of this phone once the Samsung unbranded phones get offered the updates.

You could give it a try. Someone at XDA reported that it worked with his unbranded Focus.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=12471702&postcount=42

Oh, and he wasn't kidding when he wrote that it only took like 50 tries.
Anyway, NoDo is great. Didn't notice faster app loading in Silverlight apps, but it's definitely noticeable in XNA apps (like they said at CES). The Xbox Live Extras app or Katamari loaded much faster. And while faster copy/paste is definitely cool,, I'm glad that we finally have multiple text selection. I missed that much more than copy/paste,, tbh.

If you excuse me now, I'm trying to kill the marketplace, just to see if they really fixed it

edit: o mi god, you can finally update trial apps! They fixed it!

edit 2: My custom ringtones and reghacks are still there! Yay!

 

[VanMardigan]

You could give it a try. Someone at XDA reported that it worked with his unbranded Focus.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=12471702&postcount=42

Oh, and he wasn't kidding when he wrote that it only took like 50 times.

I can't connect to that Hungary thing. Was that a problem for you?

 

[Robobandit]

You could give it a try. Someone at XDA reported that it worked with his unbranded Focus.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=12471702&postcount=42

Oh, and he wasn't kidding when he wrote that it only took like 50 times.

Anyway, NoDo is great. Didn't notice faster app loading in Silverlight apps, but it's definitely noticeable in XNA apps (like they said at CES). The Xbox Live Extras app or Katamari loaded much faster. And while faster copy/paste is definitely cool,, I'm glad that we finally have multiple text selection. I missed that much more than copy/paste,, tbh.

If you excuse me now, I'm trying to kill the marketplace, just to see if they really fixed it

edit: o mi god, you can finally update trial apps! They fixed it!

My focus is getting the NoDo update as we speak..

I'll keep you guys posted as to how it goes. The info at that thread is solid..

VanMardigan,

Use L2TP Hungary.. I couldn't connect to the PPTP one either.. but L2TP worked fine for me.

 

[VanMardigan]

no luck on l2tp hungary either

any other countries known to work?

pptp seems to hook in right away, but it disconnects me as if the username/pass is wrong. l2tp never even gets that far. It just stays on "connecting" and gives a security layer error.

 

[Robobandit]

no luck on l2tp hungary either

any other countries known to work?

pptp seems to hook in right away, but it disconnects me as if the username/pass is wrong. l2tp never even gets that far. It just stays on "connecting" and gives a security layer error.

I'm seeing other people saying the country thing doesn't matter.. just change your phone to 000-88 in the MobileOperator field, reboot the device and have it look for updates.

 

[Commodore]

Heh, where there's a will/and/or rage, there's a way. Congrats on snagging that update! I'll wait till it miraculously hits.

/Branded Focus
/grumble, grumble

 

[Robobandit]

So far, NoDo is making me happy.

Apps load faster, marketplace can scroll to infinity and not crash, search is now divided into apps and games and music by itself.

Anyone else have any annoyances they want me to check for?

So far it seems like all of my gripes are fixed.

 

[Commodore]

So far, NoDo is making me happy.

Apps load faster, marketplace can scroll to infinity and not crash, search is now divided into apps and games and music by itself.

Anyone else have any annoyances they want me to check for?

So far it seems like all of my gripes are fixed.

Any UI improvements?

Has any sort of official/unofficial release notes for NoDo been release/revealed?

 

[Firestorm]

One update, one device, one carrier. Shouldn't that be much easier?

I've seen more reasonable posts here from you. Calling those people 'idiots' ... is that really necessary?

Microsoft is in 30 countries on 60 carriers.
Apple is in 95 countries on 185 carriers.
RIM is in 165 countries on 580 carriers.

Microsoft's issue is it's not the OEM. It has far fewer carrier partners and is in far fewer countries than the others.

 

[VanMardigan]

robo,

I just want to make sure I'm doing this right:

-you are on At&t on contract
-you first chevron-unlocked your device
-you then used the registry tool to delete your mobile operator (which got you the February update)
-you then used the technique on the link to update to NoDo, but I may be able to do it just by changing the operator name to the stuff you posted
-you are now on NoDo and there are no problems in terms of At&t data usage, text messages, mms, etc.

I got all that right?

I'm currently downloading that huge MS developer tools file to begin the chevron unlock process and then do the registry edit, but let me know if I can skip that altogether.

 

[Robobandit]

Any UI improvements?

Aside from having the ability to copy and paste, none that I've seen.

 

[brotkasten]

Any UI improvements?

Has any sort of official/unofficial release notes for NoDo been release/revealed?

What kind of UI improvements are you looking for?

Here's the official change log:

March 2011

OS version: 7.0.7390.0*

• Copy & paste. You asked for it—now it's here. Just tap a word and drag the arrows to copy and paste it on your phone. You can copy text from emails, text messages, web pages, and Office Mobile documents, and paste it anywhere you can type. To learn more, see Copy & paste.
  
• Faster apps and games. Nobody likes to wait. That's why we've whittled down the time it takes for apps and games to start up and resume. It's all part of our focus on getting you to the things you love, easier and faster.
  
• Better Marketplace search. We've streamlined Marketplace search to make it easier to find specific apps, games, or music. Press the Search button in the Apps or Games section of Marketplace and you'll see only apps or games in the results. Press Search in the Music section of Marketplace to search just the music catalog.
  
• Other Marketplace improvements. We've improved the stability of Marketplace while you download apps. We've also improved the experience of downloading apps larger than 20 megabytes, upgrading from trial apps to paid apps, sharing links to apps via email, sorting Xbox LIVE games by release date, and creating an Xbox LIVE account from within the Games Hub.
  
• Wi-Fi improvements. We now display your phone's Media Access Control (MAC) address in Settings. (You might need this info if you try to connect to a Wi-Fi network that uses MAC address filtering. To learn more, see Connect to a Wi-Fi network.) We've also removed the limit on the number of Wi-Fi profiles that you can store and reduced the time it takes to start your phone if you've stored lots of Wi-Fi profiles.
  
• Outlook improvements. We've improved the experience of viewing iPhone photo attachments you receive from a non-Exchange-based email account (such as a Google Mail, Hotmail, or Yahoo! Mail account), using the Global Address List (GAL) when connecting to Exchange Server 2003 using Exchange ActiveSync, and working with email display names that contain brackets (for example, "David Alexander [Contoso]").
  
• Facebook integration. We've improved the experience of syncing Facebook accounts.
  
• Camera improvements. We've improved the stability of switching between camera and video modes.
  
• Audio improvements. We've improved the experience of using a Bluetooth headset to make calls when you're playing music or videos.
  
• Other performance improvements. This month's update also includes software from several phone manufacturers that improves the performance of specific models. Naturally, if you don't have one of the affected models, we won't install this portion of the update on your phone.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/howto/wp7/basics/update-history.aspx

 

[Complex Shadow]

Microsoft is in 30 countries on 60 carriers.
Apple is in 95 countries on 185 carriers.
RIM is in 165 countries on 580 carriers.

Microsoft's issue is it's not the OEM. It has far fewer carrier partners and is in far fewer countries than the others.

Ms also seems to have a problem with marketing. i haven't seen a WP7 ad for a long time. that or their ads are just so generic that i don't notice them (doubt it)

 

[Robobandit]

robo,

I just want to make sure I'm doing this right:

-you are on At&t on contract
-you first chevron-unlocked your device
-you then used the registry tool to delete your mobile operator (which got you the February update)
-you then used the technique on the link to update to NoDo, but I may be able to do it just by changing the operator name to the stuff you posted
-you are now on NoDo and there are no problems in terms of At&t data usage, text messages, mms, etc.

I got all that right?

I'm currently downloading that huge MS developer tools file to begin the chevron unlock process and then do the registry edit, but let me know if I can skip that altogether.

1. Yes, on contract ( since november of 2010)
2. yes, I used the chevron unlocker
3. Yes, I blanked out MobileOperator (STRING value) using the "Samsung Registry editor" tool (WithinRafael posted a modified version that defaults to the required key in that thread, so that will be a bit simpler) tool. I was able to connect to zune and receive the pre-NoDo update
4. Yes, I used the directions at that link. (I connected to EUROIP L2TP Hungary) and logged in with demo/demo from my windows 7 workstation at the office.

To get NoDo to show up, I had to change my MobileOperator from blank to 000-88.

How long it takes before you need to disable the cellular connection on your phone seems to vary.. for many people it seems to take around 53 seconds.

I started cutting my data connection on and off after about 30 seconds until I saw the update notification then I enabled it again and killed the vpn connection and it was able to download the update.

I can't speak regarding potential issues, I've only had nodo for about 30 minutes.

There do not appear to be any problems... data is working, marketplace is working fine, I've sent text messages with no complaints from my phone (just sent one to my google voice number and it showed up)

 

[VanMardigan]

3. Yes, I blanked out MobileOperator (STRING value) using the "Samsung Registry editor" tool (WithinRafael posted a modified version that defaults to the required key in that thread, so that will be a bit simpler) tool. I was able to connect to zune and receive the pre-NoDo update

Link to this editor or the one Rafael posted please. My connection is too slow, I'm gonna give this a shot at work tomorrow. I'll make sure to bring my Nexus One in case I mess something up, lol.

 

[Commodore]

What kind of UI improvements are you looking for?

Here's the official change log:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/howto/wp7/basics/update-history.aspx

Danke. Just curious if they tweaked any of the aesthetics. The UI is something I think they nailed, and I couldn't help but gravitate toward a curiosity of making the awesome, awesomer.

Glad to hear pleased users after wrestling the update.

 

[Vanillalite]

Debating if I should try this with my Focus or not... I want to but only if it's not gonna fuck up or fuck me with AT&T on down the line...

 

[jagowar]

I am too.... really debating whether or not to try.

 

[brotkasten]

So far, NoDo is making me happy.

Apps load faster, marketplace can scroll to infinity and not crash, search is now divided into apps and games and music by itself.

Anyone else have any annoyances they want me to check for?

So far it seems like all of my gripes are fixed.

Can you check the scrolling performance in 3rd party apps? It seems much better now, but maybe it's just me.

 

[Vanillalite]

Side note I didn't know Skulls of Shogun is gonna be on WP7 too. AWESOME!!

 

[thirty]

what's up with zune software tonight? it isn't detecting my phone like it normally does when i connect it to my pc.

perhaps there's a phone update happening for realz.

 

[Robobandit]

Link to this editor or the one Rafael posted please. My connection is too slow, I'm gonna give this a shot at work tomorrow. I'll make sure to bring my Nexus One in case I mess something up, lol.

Here you go -

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=12473375&postcount=83

After you get your device unlocked, just use the application deployment tool from the dev kit (It has a menu item in your start menu) and point it to the xap file you can download from the link above (Rafael's post)

Then open it up on your device.

It should be defaulted to hklm\system\platform\DeviceTargetingInfo\MobileOperator

Leave the radio button next to STRING selected and hit the Read button

The second box should read Get String: ATT-US if you haven't modified it.

Put the cursor in that box and hit back/delete until the box is empty.

Type in 000-88 and then hit the write button.

After you do that, hit the read button again - It should now display Get String: 000-88

If it does, exit the app and reboot your phone.

Connect it to Zune and you should receive the pre-NoDo update.

After that, connect it again and see if it finds NoDo.. if it doesn't try the VPN stuff and the counting/data connection disable, etc.

 

[antiquegamer]

I am gonna wait till Thursday when I am off work and unbrand my phone too. FU Microsoft and At&t. I wish someone would step up and write easy to implement phone unbranding tools.

 

[Gamer98]

So apparently HTC HD7 T-mobile owners like me will receive NoDo tomorrow.

http://www.tmonews.com/2011/03/t-mobile-htc-hd7-owners-to-start-receiving-nodo-update-tomorrow/

Who know though I hope its true.

 

[antiquegamer]

Step by step on how to NoDo your Focus phone.

http://wmpoweruser.com/samsung-focus-nodo-how-to/

I think I am gonna do it tomorrow before Microsoft / At&t shut it down.

My question is how do these people figure out how to do this ?? I mean pinging Hungary and randomly shut down the data connection.

I wish someone just hack the damm phone and put the rom online to download....

 

[sweetvar26]

i herd dell was gonna release a new version of the pro in fall.

edit.
here you go

i am not sure if its accurate. but it should give you a guess.

Dell has aVenue Pro refresh set for late summer. I'm thinking of getting one then if they fix their issues.

Yeah I guess my iPhone 3G can hold me on for a bit longer, might as well check if there is a new iPhone announcement as well this summer @WWDC.

 

[brotkasten]

Yeah I guess my iPhone 3G can hold me on for a bit longer, might as well check if there is a new iPhone announcement as well this summer @WWDC.

What about the Focus/Omnia7?

 

[sweetvar26]

What about the Focus/Omnia7?

Well if at all I buy a WP7 right now, I guess I will go with the Focus which seems to be a safe bet in terms of overall quality. If not, I will wait for the next generation of phones.

Never really looked into Omnia7. How is it compared to the others? I will need a GSM phone by the way.

 

[snap0212]

Is it just me or is Zune way better at handling huge music collections without becoming horribly slow (like iTunes)? I've basically put my whole CD collection on my external hard drive and Zune is just as fast as it was before. It's even fast on my usually slow Netbook. I remember not liking Zune that much when I first switched over from iTunes.

Next step is my DVD collection.

 

[kazinova]

Is it just me or is Zune way better at handling huge music collections without becoming horribly slow (like iTunes)? I've basically put my whole CD collection on my external hard drive and Zune is just as fast as it was before. It's even fast on my usually slow Netbook. I remember not liking Zune that much when I first switched over from iTunes.

Zune is offputting at first for everyone used to iTunes, but when I use iTunes on friends' computers it makes me want to gag. Zune is secretly the best media experience out there. All it needs is proper phone management features and it will be almost perfect.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Zune is offputting at first for everyone used to iTunes, but when I use iTunes on friends' computers it makes me want to gag. Zune is secretly the best media experience out there. All it needs is proper phone management features and it will be almost perfect.

Agreed, I don't think I could ever go back to iTunes.

 

[jagowar]

I ended up trying to get to nodo last night..... got half way there (the feb update) but never could get it to trick nodo into being available.

Connected to the hungary server, timed the fail (on both wifi and 3g) and attempted to close the data connection off a second before that time. Tried about 60 times last night and never got it. Hopefully the rumors of the tmobile update going out today are true and we can have a easier solution to get nodo.

 

[jmdajr]

Agreed, I don't think I could ever go back to iTunes.

same here

 

[Talon]

Zune is offputting at first for everyone used to iTunes, but when I use iTunes on friends' computers it makes me want to gag. Zune is secretly the best media experience out there. All it needs is proper phone management features and it will be almost perfect.

I feel like everyone's agreed that the Zune media player was fantastic since release. The earlier iterations were a little slower (that...stylistic pause), but it's fantastic now. Glad Microsoft practically decided to kill off Windows Media Player.

The biggest knock against Zune (or any media software) is that it's not iTunes. It's certainly not a problem of usability.

Glares at the spinning beachball

 

[Blackhead]

I feel like everyone's agreed that the Zune media player was fantastic since release. The earlier iterations were a little slower (that...stylistic pause), but it's fantastic now. Glad Microsoft practically decided to kill off Windows Media Player.

The biggest knock against Zune (or any media software) is that it's not iTunes. It's certainly not a problem of usability.

Glares at the spinning beachball

The biggest knock is that it's not multiplatform. So unfair.

 

[Talon]

The biggest knock is that it's not multiplatform. So unfair.

There was a time when I wanted to buy a Zune, but didn't because there was no native Zune software.

A pity, Microsoft.