Frustrated with the HTC ThunderBolt Gingerbread update (yes, I downloaded the update)

I was one of those unfortunate people who recently upgraded my HTC ThunderBolt to the Gingerbread update. I should have waited, but I pressed the button a few weeks ago that updated the Android OS to 2.3.4.

My phone has been acting very funny. The phone was very sluggish and my contacts were not appearing. The 4G LTE would often disconnect and I finally got to the point where I did a factory reset to see if that would fix some of these problems.

The HTC ThunderBolt has been plagued with faulty ROMs that have caused problems. The latest ROM update supposedly has some problems associated with the voice mail notification, but that's probably not an issue for me since I use Google Voice. The sluggish performance and the disconnections from the network were my main problems. I've been tempted to flash a custom ROM on this device, but I just don't have the time these days to do that. For now, I'll see how the next few weeks go. I'm hoping that the hard factory reset will solve my main problems.

Android 2.2 Froyo update being rolled out

If you're using an Android smartphone, you may soon receive the update to Android 2.2 (also known as Froyo). If you're an early adopter and you don't want to wait for the official update, then you can probably find a custom ROM that someone's cooked for you that includes Android 2.2.

If you have the HTC Evo 4G on Sprint, you can get the update here:
http://www.htc.com/us/support/evo-sprint/downloads/

If you have the Motorola Droid on Verizon, you'll need to wait as Verizon rolls out this update in batches. You can learn more here:
http://support.vzw.com/information/droid_upgrade.html

I hope that all other Android smartphones will soon get the 2.2 update.

Reviving a dead BlackBerry Curve 3300

The other day, I had the opportunity to revive a dead BlackBerry Curve 3300. The device simply didn't turn on. Removing the battery and reinserting it did nothing. When I connected it to my PC, the device was recognized, so I used BlackBerry Desktop Software and I tried to reinstall the OS (flash the ROM). That didn't work, but when I went to flash an older ROM, the device woke up and it started working.

Why didn't the device turn on? Was it stuck? Did the ROM get corrupted? I have no idea. I also don't know how long the device will continue to work, so I encouraged my coworker to get a new smartphone ASAP.

Verizon's HTC Droid Eris Android 2.1 upgrade coming soon!

The Android OS upgrade to 2.1 is coming to the HTC Droid Eris on Verizon Wireless. The Eris is a light, thin smartphone running Android and it's almost like a smaller, simpler version of the Nexus One.

Information regarding the upgrade is now posted on the Verizon website, so we know that it's coming soon! ROM: 2.36.605.1/Radio: 2.42.00.04.12 update

My favorite features found in Android 2.1 include the following:

• Voice-to-text entry
• Turn-by-turn directions via Google Maps
• Pinch-to-zoom in the Gallery and Google Maps

http://support.vzw.com/information/droid_eris_upgrade.html

Future smartphones: pick and install your OS

I can't wait until we can simply pick and install our operating system of choice after we purchase a smartphone. After all, we have that flexibility with PCs. You can install Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Ubutnu, or even Mac OS X (if you're creative). Why can't we do that with our smartphones?

Actually, we can to some extent. I know that many people have been installing Android ROMs on HTC smartphones like the Touch and the Touch Pro2. I don't think I've heard anyone installing the iPhone OS on any other device.

I've played around with custom ROMs in the past, but this can be a time-consuming hobby. Each time you install a new ROM, you have to reinstall all your apps. New ROms are constantly being generated as users within the community identify bugs and fixes. At some point, maybe I'll install Android on my HTC Touch Pro2 (which is currently running Windows Mobile 6.5). Then again, it would probably be much easier to simply go out and get a Motorola Droid.

Upgraded Verizon HTC Touch Pro2 (Windows Mobile 6.5) battery drain status

I have a Verizon HTC Touch Pro2 that I've upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.5 (see:  Windows Mobile 6.5 update now available for HTC Touch Pro2). After the ROM upgrade, I noticed a rapid decline in battery life (see:  Worse battery life after upgrading to Windows Mobile 6.5 on Touch Pro2. After doing some investigating, I discovered that my turning the Bluetooth off, my battery life would return to normal. (Location Service was ON)

Now, I've run a different experiment today. I turned the Bluetooth on, but I turned the Location Service Settings off. Guess what happened? My battery life is back to normal.

So now I'm confused. Is the problem in the Bluetooth or the Location Service? Are they connected? I'll need to conduct a few more experiments to see what happens. The Location Service Settings are a bit confusing. You have the following options:

• Improve location service by collecting location data at any time when device is in use (On/Off)
•  Programs that use location service
  
• HTC location service (check box) - checked
  
• Automatically decline location service in all HTC software that attempts to use location (check box) - checked

You can see that I've checked the boxes for the last 2 items. Let's see what happens. My Bluetooth is on and Location Services are "on" with both boxes checked. Will the battery be drained in a few hours?

Other Verizon users experiencing draining battery on Touch Pro2 upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.5

If you search the Verizon Wireless user forums, you'll quickly see that other Verizon customers who upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.5 are experiencing terrible battery life. I've concluded that it's the Bluetooth that's killing the battery. If you've loaded the Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM upgrade (MR 1 Upgrade on the PCDphones.com website file name: XV6875_MR1_Upgrade.zip)

I've written about my Touch Pro2 ROM upgrade experiences here:

Bluetooth killing my battery life on Touch Pro2 after Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade

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

Flashing the ROM on my HTC Touch Pro2

Windows Mobile 6.5 update now available for HTC Touch Pro2

Bluetooth killing my battery life on Touch Pro2 after Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade

Well, it appears that Mike (who left a comment in an earlier post) was correct about the Bluetooth stack killing the battery life on my upgraded HTC Touch Pro2 on Verizon.

I upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.5 and everything seemed OK, but I noticed that the battery life was draining very quickly. So, I performed a hard factory reset, and things seemed fine. However, I also noticed that the Bluetooth was "off" by default. I tested it for a few days with the Bluetooth off and my battery life seemed normal.

Then, I turned the Bluetooth on. I didn't pair with anything yet, but I immediately noticed a rapid decline in battery life. My Wi-Fi is off, so I know that's not the culprit.

So, is this why Verizon hasn't officially announced the Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade for the HTC Touch Pro2? I really hope that this bug gets fixed soon so that I can stay with Windows Mobile 6.5. Otherwise, I'll be going back to Windows Mobile 6.1.

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 the ROM on my HTC Touch Pro2

I couldn't help myself. I had to try to new Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM on my Verizon HTC Touch Pro2 smartphone. I probably should have waited for the weekend, but I just couldn't resist. I've flashed many ROMs on my older HTC phones, so I was very comfortable with a ROM upgrade.

Here's what I was expecting with this ROM upgrade:

• OS Upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5
• Updated drivers to support Global VZ Navigator (Are you planning on traveling internationally anytime soon? The Touch Pro2 is a World Phone)
  
• HTC TouchFlo 3D enhancements
  

Current image version: 1.18.605.12
Updated to image version: 3.04.605.3

Here's what happened:

• I saw the familiar HTC 4-color (red/green/blue/white) bootloader screen, followed by the gray progress bar.
• It took less than a minute for the ROM to get loaded on the phone.
• It took less than 3 minutes for the ROM to unpack and load on the phone (gray screen with blue progress bar).
• Orange Windows screen (preparing your phone for first use...) - progress bar at the bottom. Took less than 2 minutes.
• Prompt to calibrate screen.
• HTC TouchFlo 3D wizard.
• I was up and running!

So the entire process took less than 15 minutes. I immediately noticed new icons, more color, and a slightly improved interface. Here were my first impressions of Windows Mobile 6.5 on my Touch Pro2:

• The Opera Browser is still 9.5 (build 17963)
• Marketplace (App Store) is a nice feature in Windows Mobile 6.5. You'll have to create a Windows Live account. Installing apps is much easier. However, this isn't a comprehensive App Store. I couldn't find Epocrates or Skyscape, but that's no surprise.
  
• Mobile Internet Explorer is better, but still not as robust and powerful as Skyfire or Opera Mobile. The zoom bar at the bottom works on Mobile Internet Explorer. Nice!
  
• File Explorer. Didn't change much.
• Windows Media Player. Also didn't change much.
  
• Improved radio? Supposedly the radio has changed. I suppose I should have written down all my old info. Well, here's the new info: ROM version 3.04.605.3 and the Radio version is 2.23.00WV
  
• WorldCard Mobile. Looks like a nice little app to capture business cards using the phone's camera.

So, was it worth the upgrade? I suppose it was since I was going to eventually upgrade. There's a part of me that's eagerly waiting for Windows Mobile 7 and hoping that it will be a significant improvement to the current Windows Mobile 6.5 OS. Unless Windows Mobile 7 is a stellar OS, I suspect that I'll be using an Android smartphone fairly soon.

Windows Mobile 6.5 update now available for HTC Touch Pro2

Verizon Wireless has officially released the Windows Mobile 6.5 update for the HTC Touch Pro2 smartphone. This is known as the MR1 Upgrade (XV6875_MR1_Upgrade.zip). You'll have to reinstall all your apps after you apply this upgrade because it will wipe everything on your smartphone. This is known as a ROM upgrade.

The HTC Touch Pro2 comes with Windows Mobile 6.1. The update to 6.5 will add a few features, but don't expect anything too exciting. This upgrade should only be used for the Verizon version of the HTC Touch Pro2.

Warning: if you update to Windows Mobile 6.5, you may experience problems installing Epocrates (Epocrates has fixed the known issue/bug associated with Windows Mobile 6.5 and it requires you to follow a different set of instructions found here.)

Click here to access the Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM update for Verizon Wireless.

Thanks to Ricky Niell for the notice!

Sounds like the T-Mobile version may have leaked as well. Expect to see some official notices fairly soon.

Official BlackBerry OS 5.0 now available for the Storm

The official version of BlackBerry OS 5.0 is now available for the original Storm (9530). The Storm 2 will come with OS 5.0, so you don't have to worry about looking for some leaked versions floating around on the Internet.

The upgrade (or update) to OS 5.0 is free and you'll get some major improvements in web browsing (with tabs), e-mails (flags), word completion, and mapping options. Of course, there are other improvements with OS 5.0 so you'll have to give it a try.

BlackBerry OS 5.0 is also available for other devices, such as the Curve, Bold, Tour, etc. You'll have to visit the BlackBerry website to see if your device will also get the upgrade.

Visit: http://www.blackberry.com/update

HTC Touch Pro2 upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5

HTC has released one of its first upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.5 for its Touch Pro2.

ROM Upgrade (WM6.5) for HTC Touch Pro2 (WWE)
ROM version 1.86.401.0

However, this ROM upgrade is for GSM smartphones in Europe and NOT for the CDMA smartphones on the Verizon Wireless or Sprint networks. I don't know if this ROM will fry your phone if you're on AT&T or another GSM network.

Never load a GSM ROM on a CDMA phone (or vice versa). You will end up with serious problems if you do this.

If you live in North America, I strongly suggest that you wait until your carrier has released its official ROM upgrade before you go out and risk damaging your smartphone. Patience is a virtue.