Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"We've had it up here with these shenanigans. You're jerking us around, and we're sick of it. We get it, you have a very particular concept of what sort of phones you want running your new Windows Phone 7 Series OS. Not only do we get it, but we're kind of proud of you for sticking up for yourself for once and ensuring some sort of sameness across your platform. Unfortunately, it's not the holiday season yet, so we can't buy one of these fancy WP7S phones yet. Meanwhile, on the other end of town, HTC is bringing the HD2 to T-Mobile in the US this month. Sure, it runs your soon-to-be-outdated Windows Mobile 6.5 OS which nobody wants, but it's also pretty much the best hardware we've ever seen. Bar none."

Paul Miller published an editorial at Engadget yesterday that made me think about the consequences of corporate secrecy and policy when it comes to the geek community. Even as someone willing to play by these rules (as evidenced by my own NDA with Microsoft), I still long for a time where geeks can have what they want, and companies can keep mainstream customers happy. Unfortunately I don't see that happening any time soon for some very practical reasons. And in the end, as frustrating as it is, I think it is for the better.

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We're hearing that a new ROM update for the Xperia X1 brings better performance, better signal, better touch response, heck - better everything it seems. If you're an Xperia owner, head over to Sony Ericssons Update Service to get the goods.

HTC has posted a ROM update for the Touch HD, which, alongside the usual batch of bug fixes, improves the performance of GPS and emergency call connections, and updates the connection setup database. It's a free download, although you will need to provide your serial number in order to gain access to it.

Both the Samsung SGH-i780 (European version) and Verizon Wireless' XV6900 (HTC Touch) have finally been blessed with Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrades. Visit our Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade thread for links to these upgrades, as well as many more.

There's no shortage of Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrades available for download, so we've compiled and linked to (hopefully) all of them to make searching for that device upgrade just a little bit easier. If you know of any we've missed, hit us with a link and we'll add it to the list.

• Alltel: HTC Touch, HTC PPC6800
• ASUS: P527, P750
• AT&T: Motorola Q9h, Pantech Duo, Tilt,
• Bell: HTC Touch, HTC PPC6800
• HTC: Touch Cruise, Touch Dual, HTC TyTN II,
• i-mate: Ultimate 6150, Ultimate 8150, Ultimate 8502, Ultimate 9502
• Intermec: CN3, CK3
• Motorola: MC7090 (requires a purchased license)
• O2: Xda Mantle, Xda Orbit 2, Xda Stellar
• Orange: HTC TyTN II
• Samsung: BlackJack II (XP, Vista), SCH-i760, SGH-i780 (Europe)
• Sprint: ACE (SPH-i325), Mogul, HTC Touch
• Telus: HTC Touch, HTC S720, HTC P4000
• US Cellular: HTC Touch
• Verizon Wireless: Motorola Q9c, XV6800, XV6900
• Vodafone: v1615

"The new ROM for the XV6800, Verizon's version of the HTC Titan, doesn't feature any surprises, but will hook your device up with the usual array of enhancements, including threaded SMS, improved battery life, and more. Sadly, Verizon has kept the GPS functionality locked down so anyone hoping to make use of VZNavigator, or any other 3rd party nav apps will find themselves SOL. Honestly, why Verizon? Why?"

Both the Tilt and the XV6800 recently received ROM update goodness. No GPS for the XV6800 though - VZW simply hasn't figured out a good way to make money off of opening it up, most likely.

There's a fresh breeze going through HTC HQ at the moment. The company has opened up ROM updates to almost everyone. I say "almost", because you still need your device's serial number to download the updates, but that's a heck of a lot better than the notoriously flaky process of registering your device in the e-Club.

With ROM updates available in the Support section, the e-Club now serves as a hub for mobile content. While only twenty ringtones are up for grabs at the moment, they're surprisingly decent. Four of them are the tunes featured in the Touch Diamond promo videos. The rest are a mix of electronic, folk, rock, hip-hop, and new age beats. You do need to be an e-Club member to download them, but it's free for anyone (even non-HTC customers) to register.

News today that should make any V1615 Power user a bit happy - the Windows Mobile 6.1 Upgrade for that unit is now available from Vodafone's Website. Having updated my TyTN II to the HTC ROM available a few weeks back, I've generally noticed some good and some bad. It looks like there may be a memory leak somewhere, and I'm not a big fan of Threaded SMS - but a few issues did go away. Anyone upgrading their unit's today?