New polaris, not that impressed (ex wizard)

[Stu308]

Hi , got my new orbit 2 (polaris) the other day and im not that impressed by it as yet.
I came from using my trusty vario(wizard) and it doesnt seem (as yet) much quicker than that.
I know it has built in gps, radio etc. But i cant put me finger on it why it hasnt impressed me much. i played a bit of video on it and it was a bit jumpy, also scroll is a bit iffy.
Can anyone enlighten me as to what it can do and do better than my old phone?
Or what to use to make it a pleasure to use.

Thanks.

[gnick666]

Please read the already posted threads relating to your questions...
These questions have been asked and answered several times before, so please use the search tool.

[Ajacied410]

Hi , got my new orbit 2 (polaris) the other day and im not that impressed by it as yet.
I came from using my trusty vario(wizard) and it doesnt seem (as yet) much quicker than that.
I know it has built in gps, radio etc. But i cant put me finger on it why it hasnt impressed me much. i played a bit of video on it and it was a bit jumpy, also scroll is a bit iffy.
Can anyone enlighten me as to what it can do and do better than my old phone?
Or what to use to make it a pleasure to use.

Thanks.

Believe me..it could be one of most impressif pocketphone's out there..but the only problem with this device is that HTC didn't do there homework that good and put this device to soon on the market.
But when the new firmware (with drivers) come's online it will be one of the finest pocketphone's out there at the moment.
The only think for us is to pray that HTC will make the firmware with the drivers, otherwise it will go into be books as a slow and bad preforming device 4-ever and HTC will loose a lot of trusty customers!

But like the other also said..it's being sad in a lot off topics now..so lets use the other threads for the complenning ;)

[dortyboy]

i agree. i bought mine a week ago. the touch cruise and i am not that impress coming from a tmobile mda aka wizard. i still use my wizard. love it but cruise slow. internet is slow. features are wack. the only good thing is the radio but i dnt listen to radio and tomtom navigation. i live in nyc i use the subway so not that usefull to me. htc better come good or its apple for me.

[pistonripper]

htc better come good or its apple for me.

This is exactly what I'm thinking...HTC really messed this wicked phone up....Gonna wait for the Xperia or Samsung i900.

[briggs81]

You aren't getting drivers for it. You are getting a software patch that helps fix a few things like scrolling and some basic touch screen functionality, nothing to do with video.

unfortunately, if you want to watch movies you have to convert them yourself and spend the time doing it, then you can have some fun with high quality movies or shows.

i will think twice before I buy my next handset. I don't expect the most amazing device in the world, but I don't like to be mislead in advertising.

[JNGold]

Funny, I find my Cruise does everything I ask of it. I find it an improvement in almost every way over the KJAM (OC'ed to 247mhz), and the Treo 750.

[Stu308]

Can someone give me some links to help please? Thanks.

[pistonripper]

Funny, I find my Cruise does everything I ask of it. I find it an improvement in almost every way over the KJAM (OC'ed to 247mhz), and the Treo 750.

How is your cruise setup?

I've just installed Coreplayer .....runs pathetic....picture hardly moves when running a 480MB avi.
Camera...you can forget that....never seen such rubbish...I'm sure the image quality is good...nobody should have to wait that long to take a picture.

I have a UK O2 Orbit 2....got rid of the O2 taskbar icon (after reading it was a memory hogger).

Installed :
HTC Home Screen...
HTC Theme (black) tsk file 102KB vs 200+KB for the 02 Theme.
Skype
Core Player 1.1.1
Opera 9.33
OTO
Calculator skin
WMP Skin
Advanced Configuration
PocketCM Keyboard (one of the best touch apps....never knew I could touch type that fast)

I for one am willing help in what it takes to have this phone running to at least 2/3 of its potential. Compared to my friend's Hermes...thats faster....got suckered into touch and WM6 Pro....
Where as touch v1 is a decent attempt (O2 just messed it up) I'm sure V2 only get better...Microsoft really need to integrate touch into the OS..(whats with the small up arrow next to keyboard selection on the taskbar...with so much empty space around it?....saving on real estate ?).
To me this OS looks/feels the same as the one I had on my SPV C500 years ago...(have you seen the WM6 original calculator !) 3rd party can only do so much.

Well I think HTC better watch out....to sell an expensive phone half finished...well what you say...advertising SOLD IT. But theres a few phones coming out soon and if they utilize the hardware and have half decent software then HTC will have to up the ante...should be interesting.

At the moment we will have to wait for what improvements HTC brings to this COOL LOOKING phone.

Sorry...I'm just a bit disapointed.

[stesa]

How is your cruise setup?

I've just installed Coreplayer .....runs pathetic....picture hardly moves when running a 480MB avi.
Camera...you can forget that....never seen such rubbish...I'm sure the image quality is good...nobody should have to wait that long to take a picture.

I have a UK O2 Orbit 2....got rid of the O2 taskbar icon (after reading it was a memory hogger).

Installed :
HTC Home Screen...
HTC Theme (black) tsk file 102KB vs 200+KB for the 02 Theme.
Skype
Core Player 1.1.1
Opera 9.33
OTO
Calculator skin
WMP Skin
Advanced Configuration
PocketCM Keyboard (one of the best touch apps....never knew I could touch type that fast)

I for one am willing help in what it takes to have this phone running to at least 2/3 of its potential. Compared to my friend's Hermes...thats faster....got suckered into touch and WM6 Pro....
Where as touch v1 is a decent attempt (O2 just messed it up) I'm sure V2 only get better...Microsoft really need to integrate touch into the OS..(whats with the small up arrow next to keyboard selection on the taskbar...with so much empty space around it?....saving on real estate ?).
To me this OS looks/feels the same as the one I had on my SPV C500 years ago...(have you seen the WM6 original calculator !) 3rd party can only do so much.

Well I think HTC better watch out....to sell an expensive phone half finished...well what you say...advertising SOLD IT. But theres a few phones coming out soon and if they utilize the hardware and have half decent software then HTC will have to up the ante...should be interesting.

At the moment we will have to wait for what improvements HTC brings to this COOL LOOKING phone.

Sorry...I'm just a bit disapointed.

we have 2 differents polaris , mine is the all time better pocketpc (I owned all the precedent)

[Stu308]

Aww, no one being much help to me here. Come on guys give us a clue.
Don't know whether to swap it for a Kaiser/stellar instead????

[JNGold]

How is your cruise setup?

Mine is setup like everyone else. I have done all the performance hacks I know of (WM Cache, GlypheCache set to 64K, etc). I have over 25 applications installed.


I've just installed Coreplayer .....runs pathetic....picture hardly moves when running a 480MB avi.

Coreplayer just released 1.2 which performs much better on the TC. Also, I have encoded many of my vids for PPC viewing since I have owned nothing but WM devices for many years now.


Camera...you can forget that....never seen such rubbish...I'm sure the image quality is good...nobody should have to wait that long to take a picture.

Disable the shutter sound, it helps.


I for one am willing help in what it takes to have this phone running to at least 2/3 of its To me this OS looks/feels the same as the one I had on my SPV C500 years ago.

Welcome to the world of Windows Mobile. However, the inclusion of Touch Flo is probably the most unique WM experience offered by a WM device.


..(have you seen the WM6 original calculator !) 3rd party can only do so much.

Install the HTC Calculator. :)


Well I think HTC better watch out....to sell an expensive phone half finished...well what you say...advertising SOLD IT. But theres a few phones coming out soon and if they utilize the hardware and have half decent software then HTC will have to up the ante...should be interesting.


Aside from the video driver issues (which BTW hasn't bothered me that much), what software do expect HTC to ship with the device? HTC has done a good job integrating TouchFlo and HTC today into WM. It sounds to me like your complaints software-wise are more directed to MS rather than HTC.

[JNGold]

Aww, no one being much help to me here. Come on guys give us a clue.
Don't know whether to swap it for a Kaiser/stellar instead????

Since both devices are the same performance and feature-wise your only decision is whether you require a physical keyboard on the Tytn II.

[athanaso77]

I've just installed Coreplayer .....runs pathetic....picture hardly moves when running a 480MB avi.
Camera...you can forget that....never seen such rubbish...I'm sure the image quality is good...nobody should have to wait that long to take a picture.

I have a UK O2 Orbit 2....got rid of the O2 taskbar icon (after reading it was a memory hogger).

Installed :
HTC Home Screen...
HTC Theme (black) tsk file 102KB vs 200+KB for the 02 Theme.
Skype
Core Player 1.1.1
.
.
.


I would suggest you installing Core Player 1.2.0

[pistonripper]

Thanks all...going to install Coreplayer 1.2.0....I did the tweaks, glyph and sound on the shutter..no effect really...maybe I've got a dud....warms up too in my hand....

Also if anyone is running the HTC home screen...which one is it ?...there so many to choose from...

Is there one specifically for the Polaris ?...I've seached and found many versions and variations.

[Stu308]

but why does it seem as slow as my wizard? I thought the processor was supposed to be much faster? And the scrolling is finnicky to say the least.

[dortyboy]

i just downloaded coreplayer 1.3.0. whats so special about core player?

[Rudegar]

it's the player which supports most formats

[Aleemz]

I have the Orbit 2, and when I first tried using Internet Explorer I was very disappointed with the extremely slow and jerky scroll, if you could call it 'scroll'. Now that I have managed to install SPB Pocket Plus with the 'Smart Scroll' feature enabled, I'm now happy with that aspect. I haven’t tried video on it yet, but my thoughts now are that I do like the device, especially because of its form factor and looks. Before the Orbit 2 I had the SPV M3100 (Hermes), prior to this I had the SPV C500, and prior to that I had the original windows Smartphone, the Orange SPV.

For me, the Orbit is a step in the right direction, but I will be a little disappointed if video is unusable.

[mmichalak007]

Overall I am happy with my Cruise (I have gotten a sim-free version). Apparently a number of people complain about speed, and I have noticed that this is also related to owners of Cruise who are on the O2 network. My guess is O2 loaded their version with useless software which reduces performance.

Regarding the video issue, I user Coreplayer 1.2 (coreplayer is a must), I encode my videos in QVGA resolution and they seem fine to me. True, you won't be able to take an existing DVD quality rip and expect Cruise to show it well, even in Coreplayer.

Performance-wise, Cruise could probably do a little better given its specs, but overall, I still think it is a very good and practival device.


Hopefully video issue will be addressed, I am not 100% confident it will be fully resolved though. Though the device works fine for me, it is quite upsetting to know that its hardware is not fully utilised...

As my closing statement have a look at the text below, from

gizmodo. com/gadgets/what.s-wrong-with-windows-mobile/whats-wrong-with-windows-mobile-and-how-wm7-and-wm8-are-going-to-fix-it-333536.php

=-=-=-=--=-=
Microsoft is working to fix the whole WM platform. Here's how:

Even when using a super sluggish WinMo phone, it's less an example of a manufacturer not meeting the minimum requirements for RAM, ROM and CPU power, and more a problem of software which has not been optimized to run on it. This is often the service provider's fault. For example, two phones with the same 400MHz processor can be totally different depending on how much optimization the provider decides to do. When you're using a slow phone, blame the provider.

On the same token, the Windows Mobile OS team actually does set a minimum hardware requirement for the "core" features of the OS to make sure the user experience is a good one, but the minimum-requirement bar may be set too low. When companies add apps on top of the core, things start to wobble. Product manager Derek Snyder told me that Microsoft will raise the bar for minimum requirements to a level where phones can be loaded with more software without slowing down the most basic of tasks (e.g. sliding open the AT&T Tilt from portrait to landscape mode).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=

[kutonglupa]

Overall I am happy with my Cruise (I have gotten a sim-free version). Apparently a number of people complain about speed, and I have noticed that this is also related to owners of Cruise who are on the O2 network. My guess is O2 loaded their version with useless software which reduces performance.

Regarding the video issue, I user Coreplayer 1.2 (coreplayer is a must), I encode my videos in QVGA resolution and they seem fine to me. True, you won't be able to take an existing DVD quality rip and expect Cruise to show it well, even in Coreplayer.

Performance-wise, Cruise could probably do a little better given its specs, but overall, I still think it is a very good and practival device.


Hopefully video issue will be addressed, I am not 100% confident it will be fully resolved though. Though the device works fine for me, it is quite upsetting to know that its hardware is not fully utilised...

As my closing statement have a look at the text below, from

gizmodo. com/gadgets/what.s-wrong-with-windows-mobile/whats-wrong-with-windows-mobile-and-how-wm7-and-wm8-are-going-to-fix-it-333536.php

=-=-=-=--=-=
Microsoft is working to fix the whole WM platform. Here's how:

Even when using a super sluggish WinMo phone, it's less an example of a manufacturer not meeting the minimum requirements for RAM, ROM and CPU power, and more a problem of software which has not been optimized to run on it. This is often the service provider's fault. For example, two phones with the same 400MHz processor can be totally different depending on how much optimization the provider decides to do. When you're using a slow phone, blame the provider.

On the same token, the Windows Mobile OS team actually does set a minimum hardware requirement for the "core" features of the OS to make sure the user experience is a good one, but the minimum-requirement bar may be set too low. When companies add apps on top of the core, things start to wobble. Product manager Derek Snyder told me that Microsoft will raise the bar for minimum requirements to a level where phones can be loaded with more software without slowing down the most basic of tasks (e.g. sliding open the AT&T Tilt from portrait to landscape mode).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=

You working in microsoft?:rolleyes:

[mmichalak007]

No, I don't :D

I simply found that link... I never used such a device before and I found Windows to be a little bit of disappointment on it. It's not the device, the device is cool, packing lots of features. It is also quite good as a PDA.

However, this device among other things IS a phone and should be easy to handle as a phone. And on this field, I think Microsoft can do better. For example, the calls history... You cannot really see all the incoming/outgoing/missed calls grouped together, you just get a single list of those.

So basically, I did a little bit of research and found out that even Microsoft say they can do things better for the next versions.

On top of that, you have all the service providers overloading windows with junk and then it makes the whole thing even slower and worse. I am happy I got my device "clean" and sim free :D

Have a look at that link, it's a quite interesting read... :)