What is The Big Deal with WM6.5 ?

[x86]

I have recently seen alot of ROMS for WM6.5 and they all look the same from the screenshots.... ugly!
I mean what is with all the HUGE text listed down the screen, am I the only one who thinks this is a stupid setup? What happened to the Start Menu and clean today setup?

Are people just updating to WM6.5 just 'cos its 6.5, or do you actually like the look of it? Please give your opinions on WM6.5, and more importantly what is the difference between WM6?

I am using WM6.1 on 2 of my devices as I like the Today Screen feel and the way everything is set out. I am contemplating putting 6.5 on a device just to test it out, is it really worth it? is it customizable to make the home screen not just BIG words down the screen? maybe a clock even lol.

thanks everyone for your opinions.

[crazy talk]

i think it looks great.

[orb3000]

As long as you have good apps installed to cover nasty WM UI no matter if you have 6.1 or 6.5
I personally do not like the honeycomb, but I do like that the hole UI is more finger friendly
Let´s see the WM7!! hope they really impress us:eek:

[Nicaragüense]

I like it because its 6.5 that .4 of more awesome 1337ness!!!! lol.. I actually just like the better slightly larger menu buttons. the new start menu is neither here nor there for me.. I don't like titanium, it has potential, but till you can have more than one link on click per panel it is pretty lame to me.. seems to take more effort to get to my necessary apps with it than without it.. I have been using wad2 on my last few flashes. My device is i910 Omnia, with the BlazingWolf 7.1 rom.

[wg5566]

On my observation, the main advantages of WM6.5 over WM6.1 are:

RAM Managemenet: In WM6.5 I never need to run the apps to clear RAM. Any time I quit a program, the RAM will be released imediately.

Power Consumption Controll: The battery life is noticably enlonged copare using WM6.1, on same load.

Connectivity: One example is on WM6.1 any time I'm using Internet Sharing I need to manually switch phone band to WCDMA to ensure stable fast data connection. And if I forget to switch it back to GSM or Auto after finished the Internet Sharing, phone calls on 3G mode will drain the battery very fast. But on WM6.5, I noticed that I don't need to switch phone band again, just leave it as Auto. The OS is so smart that it knows what time to switch to what band. Example, when I use internet sharing, it will stay at 3G for most of the time. When I make or receive a phone call, it will switch to GSM immediately after the phone connected.

Finger Touch Experience For this I don't explain more, it's just much more comfortable on finger/stylus responds.

Third Party Apps Interface: Well I'm not a developer, but from the changes on some registry structure, I can definitely tell that WM65 will be more friendly to third party application developers.

These are very core elements of a mobile os. The progress of wm65 on these points is obviously noticable.

But because the change of the core. It causes a big problem on legacy apps compatibility. People find that a lot of apps running well on wm6 just can never run on wm65.
But I think currently both Microsoft and third party software vendors are working tight on this issue. At least for most part of popular softwares, we can find a wm65 compatible version now. But for some speciall software, we can not find it if the developer did not upgrade it.

For sure, there are certain advantages of using 6.5 over 6.1. (The advantage is not only 'skin' things that you can see it, more important is on the 'core'.)
Hence your choice just depend on what softwares you're using. If for all your 'must-have' softwares you can find a WM6.5 compatible version or its replacement, why not use WM6.5.

Edit: I don't like the Titanium & the headache to customize it either. I just disabled it & leave an 'empty today', but with HButton, I can reach all frequently used apps within one single touch.
The RAM used by Titanium is 3.5MB+, compares to HTC Home @1.5MB+, & M2D @ 7MB+.
I like the looking of Honeucomb,(for showup only), but I also use QuickMenu, which is more functional.

Must to say that above experience are from the single ROM I've used only, maybe there are performance variaties on different ROMs & devices.

And at last, one of my most favarite part is the new PIE, it definitely can display whatever a desktop ie does except only one tab allowed.

[DaveTheTytnIIGuy]

I like 6.5. I find it runs pretty well on the kaiser, and I prefer its look to the old Windows 3.x interface found in the older versions. Plus, the finger scrolling is superb. And if you don't like the honeycomb, there are other start menu layouts, one example here (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=7545). WM6.5 is just a band-aid to hold us over until WM7, but it's still a step in the right direction for Microsoft.

Dave

[x86]

Yes, I think i will be waiting for wm7, but i just can't help myself any longer and I am going to take the plunge to wm6.5 on my Elfin or Wizard just to give it a go, I think it should run well on the elin with the RAM it has and without really checking out the custmizations, my assumptions is basically on the interface on standard screenshots i have seen.

thanks for the input guys, only a flash will i be able to add further opinions, as i am a heaver modder, and would need this to offer proper insight into the OS.

[jbadair1]

I've bounced back and forth between a couple 6.1 and 6.5 ROMs. I use TouchFLo because I hate 6.1's today screen and Titanium is pretty bland. I think that the current touchflo manila 2.1 is about the best you can get for WM6.1 currently, but I don't think manila 2.1 is streamlined for WM6.5. I feel like I'm taking a step back in integration and fluidness when I use Touchflo 2.1 and WM6.5. Not much, but it just seems off. This leads me to think that the new manila 2.5 is HTC's update to bring that integration and fluidness to WM6.5. The specualtion is that manila 2.5 is going to be for the new Firestone. While that is probably true, HTC has also mentioned that the new Topaz and Rhodium will get WM 6.5 upgrades. I would like to assume that this upgrade will also include manila 2.5 because if I feel that WM6.5 and TouchFlo 2.1 is lacking a complete feel then I would take that HTC has also noticed this. Yeah, I'm rambling I know. Just my thoughts. Bottom line on WM6.5 is that it seems like Microsoft just made a piss poor attempt at skinning there relic OS. That just pertains to the aesthetics though. I know there were unseen changes that do have their benefits.

(Sorry for all the "I feel and I would assumes", just ponderings)