So... is the LEO finally an Always-On device?

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Hi everyone!

I'm having a tough time deciding whether to get an HD2 or a Nokia N900, mainly because of one main feature on the N900: As far as I can tell, the Nokia N900 allows you to stay online (Instant Messaging, VoIP) permanently, even when the device is in standby - so ICQ, Skype, SIP, MSN are all connected, and if you get a new message or a call, the device will notify you.

I haven't used many modern WinMo devices, so I'm not sure if anything similar to this is possible with WinMo 6.5 (I've used WM6.5 ROMs on my Prophet, but I'm guessing a lot of features were stripped out to make them run at all )... is it possible to do this on the Leo?

I want the device to _always_ be online - if there's WiFi it should connect to that, and if not then it should connect to cellular data. This should obviously also be automatic, so that I don't have to manually log onto the WiFi every time I get home or to university...

Is this use supported? Or would it be more of a hack that runs down the battery like crazy (IIRC you can turn on WiFi permanently, so that it doesn't turn off when you put the phone in standby - not sure if the apps would stay connected, though)...

Thanks in advance!

I think the HD used to turn wifi off when the phone went into standby (I don't think I ever used wifi), but it used to stay connected over 3g for IM and the like when you turned the phone off (stand by)

Oh really? I thought 3G was turned off too... well, I guess that's a step in the right direction.

Anyone know about WiFi and automatic switching?

By default the WIFI is switched off when in standby, but it's possible to change it.
However, having WIFI always on will drain the battery completly.
Regarding to the automatic change, no idea!

And there's no way to lower the WiFi signal strength enough so that it doesn't drain the battery? What if you set WiFi power mode to best battery? On my Prophet it's unusable because the signal is nearly nonexistant, but I was hoping that they'd have changed this for the HD2...

Ideally it'd lower the signal strength as far as possible without dropping the signal when in standby, and then power up to a sufficient speed when the device is actually on...

Wi-Fi only turns off if you want ot too. You can change the way Wi-Fi works in the settings and let it be always on, even if you turn off the screen.

Is this new on the Leo?

Does that drain the battery quickly? Or is it in a low-power mode?

Even with the Best battery setting it won't last too long, I'm afraid. Or, as you have said, it won't have good enough reception to actually connect to anything.

I have no idea how this is implemented in Nokias, it actually sounds like a kind of magic if you're saying it doesn't kill the battery.

I've never heard about an automatic switching solution (or even about the problem, for that matter). It's relatively easy to implement periodic polling but even that will have serious adverse effect on your battery.

Originally Posted by bemymonkey

Is this new on the Leo?

Does that drain the battery quickly? Or is it in a low-power mode?

It's been on WM since times immemorial - it's a registry setting, and there are programs that allow you to change it without manually tweaking your registry.

Yes, it does drain your battery, even in low-power mode.

Originally Posted by vangrieg

Even with the Best battery setting it won't last too long, I'm afraid. Or, as you have said, it won't have good enough reception to actually connect to anything.

Ah, so the Best Battery setting is still completely useless. Good to know.

Originally Posted by vangrieg

I have no idea how this is implemented in Nokias, it actually sounds like a kind of magic if you're saying it doesn't kill the battery.

I'm not quite sure myself, but that's what a few of the nice people over at talk.maemo.org told me . I just hope I didn't misinterpret what they were saying

Originally Posted by vangrieg

I've never heard about an automatic switching solution (or even about the problem, for that matter). It's relatively easy to implement periodic polling but even that will have serious adverse effect on your battery.

Meh. Think 12 hours is doable with polling?

Originally Posted by vangrieg

It's been on WM since times immemorial - it's a registry setting, and there are programs that allow you to change it without manually tweaking your registry.

Yes, it does drain your battery, even in low-power mode.

OK, so it's the same feature that's existed for a long time... I thought it was something new, that actually made sense (i.e. didn't drain the battery so frikken fast...).