Worse battery life after upgrading to Windows Mobile 6.5 on Touch Pro2

I'm experiencing terrible battery life on my Verizon HTC Touch Pro2 after upgrading to Windows Mobile 6.5. I've performed a hard reset to make sure that it's not an app draining my battery. Anyone else having similar issues? I should have stayed with Windows Mobile 6.1 since there are few benefits to upgrading to 6.5 if you're already using HTC TouchFlo 3D (HTC Sense).

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this yet, but perhaps it's time to load a custom ROM on my Touch Pro2. When I was using the HTC Titan (Verizon XV6800, Sprint Mogul), I was mainly using custom ROMs built by DCD and others on the XDA-Developers and PPCGeeks forums.

Flashing a custom ROM on my HTC Touch Pro

Yes, I'm now flashing a custom Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM on my Verizon Wireless HTC Touch Pro. I've done quite a bit ROM flashing in my life. First, it began with the XV6800 (aka, HTC Titan, Sprint Mogul). Then, I recently did some ROM flashing on the XV6900 (aka, HTC Vogue, Touch). Now, I'm flashing the ROM on my new HTC Touch Pro (aka, HTC Raphael).

Why all this custom ROM flashing? I originally did it to get the GPS working on my old XV6800. Now, I'm doing it to get the latest operating system: Windows Mobile 6.5

The GPS is already unlocked on the Touch Pro (thanks to an update provided by Verizon Wireless). I wish they would unlock the GPS on all their old phones too, but they're not doing that.

Testing Windows Mobile 6.5 Build 23017

I've been testing Windows Mobile 6.5 for the last week on my Verizon Wireless smartphone. It's an older phone made by HTC and it's branded as the XV6800, but it's really an HTC Titan. I wasn't expecting stellar results because of the relatively slow processor and limited RAM, but I have to admit that it runs quite efficiently. It's a bit slower compared to Windows Mobile 6.1, but I really like some of the new features. I'm currently testing Build 23017 and I'd like to thank the guys at PPCGeeks.com for providing custom ROMs for the XV6800. Build 23022 is out, but it's not ready for mass testing yet.

Some of the nice features found in Windows Mobile 6.5 include:

• Larger menus for finger touch-friendly navigation (forget using that stylus pen)
  
• Improved "Today" screen for better finger-touch navigation options
  
• Touch-friendly icons in the "Start" menu. The actual menu is gone and you're left with icons. This reminds me of the original Palm OS in some ways. Most smartphone operating systems use this type of icon placement and don't use a traditional "Start" menu (or cascading menu).
  
• Panning improvements for finger-touch scrolling
  
• Better Pocket Internet Explorer (I still prefer the Skyfire mobile web browser). You'll see zooming capabilities and other performance improvements.
  

Since my old XV6800 isn't considered a phone capable of technically running Windows Mobile 6.5, these tests will be limited. However, I do plan to upgrade my phone and I anticipate that my next smartphone will be better suited to run Windows Mobile 6.5. By the way, I'm also using the built-in GPS on the XV6800 and I'm getting a fast satellite lock within a matter of seconds. Once I upgrade my phone, I'll be using this XV6800 as a standalone GPS navigation unit.

I plan to get the Samsung Omnia on VZW

I've decided that my Verizon XV6800 (HTC Titan) is dying. The replacement sent by Verizon didn't work out and I think I'm simply going to have to bite the bullet and get a new phone. Since I'm stuck on Verizon, I think I'll go with the Samsung Omnia. It's currently listed at $199, so I'll wait until the price drops some more. It should drop relatively soon since the Omnia 2 may be coming out in late 2009 or early 2010 (according to my speculation). I admit that I'm really tempted to wait for the Omnia 2, but I don't want to spend more than $100 for a new phone. I get $100 of credit from Verizon, so if I can wait until the price is around $150, then I may bite the bullet. The BlackBerry Storm is already $99, so I could get that phone for free.

Ultimately, I want a smartphone that can:

1. Tether and connect my laptop to the Internet (both Windows Mobile and BlackBerry will do that)
   
2. Free GPS (prefer to use TomTom software. Don't want to pay for VZ Navigator. No TomTom for BlackBerry)
   
3. Run plenty of medical apps (this is also where the BlackBerry Storm falls short)
4. Browse the web (The Storm has a better built-in browser. However, you can run Skyfire or Opera Mini on Windows Mobile)
   

If I get the Samsung Omnia now, will I regret it when the Omnia 2 comes out? Probably. But I'm willing to live with that. I'm an early-adopting technologist, but I don't always need to have the latest and greatest when it comes to smartphones. I'd rather live more on the practical side and save $ (especially during these economic times). I've gone through enough smartphones and PDAs to know that these have a very finite life span and what you buy now simply won't last very long. So why pay much for something that will only last a few years at most?

Using an Extended Battery

Do you use an extended battery on your smartphone? I've been using one on my HTC Windows Mobile phone for the last few weeks and it's been great having the extra capacity. My wife currently uses a Samsung smartphone running Windows Mobile and she hasn't needed an extended battery because she doesn't do a whole lot of e-mail or browsing on her smartphone. I don't have to worry about the battery dying if I do some heavy browsing on Skyfire or tweet using Twobile or PockeTwit.

Do You Love or Hate Your Smartphone?

My friend hates his smartphone. I can't say that I love mine, but I also don't hate it. It does its job and every time I get a new smartphone, I think about which features I liked and disliked about my old one. This way, I can almost imagine what my next one "should" be like.

For instance, I started with a Treo 700wx (Windows Mobile). It was a "candybar" design. Nothing slides in or out. No flips. It was a nice phone, but it was bulky. It had a small screen and the buttons were small, but I could use it with one hand. No Wi-Fi, slow EV-DO speeds. No GPS.

Now, I have a slider phone (the Verizon XV6800, AKA Sprint Mogul or HTC Titan or PPC6800). This phone is roughly the same size. It has a larger screen and since the keyboard slides out, the buttons are larger. This one has Wi-Fi (which I hardly use), fast EV-DO speeds (great for tethering), and has a built-in GPS (if you load a custom ROM and radio).

I'm hoping that my next phone will be more like the Treo in terms of design/form/function. I hope it's thinner than the Treo, but it will need an internal aGPS (I've grown to depend on this so much, especially when I travel and drive in a new city). Fortunately, there are currently several phones that I can select that would meet my "requirements." However, I'm not in the market to purchase a new phone, so I'll wait patiently.

Opera Mobile 9.7

I'm waiting to try Opera Mobile 9.7 on my HTC Titan XV6800 (Sprint Mogul). I've been using Opera Mobile 9.5 and it's been working quite well so far. However, it's slow compared to Opera Mini, and Opera Mobile 9.7 is supposed to have Opera Turbo. So, when is Opera Mobile 9.7 going to be available?