Worth the wait? Will it one day be "complete enough"?

[smileyface22]

Wirelessly posted (TP2: Opera/9.80 (Windows Mobile; WCE; Opera Mobi/WMD-50433; U; en) Presto/2.4.13 Version/10.00)

Originally Posted by dishe

Funny, most people I know who tried the moment had buyers remorse, and wished for either a) an HTC Hero or b) a Touch Pro 2.

Weird, huh?

But I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with most of you guys here... As someone already mentioned, the Vogue has a complete port working 100%. Bluetooth, A2DP, Camera, GPS, you name it. In fact, many people are flashing WM off their phones bringing Android into internal NAND memory. And all this happened AFTER the Vogue was considered obsolete.

When the Touch Pro and Diamond came out, Android on the Vogue was still a "proof of concept", much like ours is now. Fun to play with, not really ready for prime time. The Touch Pro 2 came out, and the EOL for the vogue came and went- but still there are dedicated developers tweaking and fixing Android on the 2-generation-old phone.
Why? Because some people actually like the design of the Vogue (it IS one of the smallest and most pocketable devices ever made), and because gosh darn it, some people don't buy a new phone just because the next best thing came out!

My point is that right now there are a lot of great Android handsets, but they all have pros and cons. There are still some things that the Rhodium is ahead with in comparison.
The keyboard is second to none (Moment's keyboard has space bar between letters on bottom row? no thank you- The Droid's is cramped and pushed over for a D-pad, found it very hard to type on... most other new android devices don't even have a KB at all, which is a deal breaker for me), the volume and speakerphone system is excellent (better than most smartphones I've ever seen), and the ability to dual mode GSM and CDMA as a world phone is still rather rare. Then there is the cute "wow" factor of the tilting screen (only sometimes useful, but nice to have). As much as many of the upcoming Android phones would be a step up in some directions, they would also be a step down in others.

In fact, I think the biggest gripe most people have with the Rhodium is the WM operating system installed on it. I've heard some folks claim that they wish there was an Android phone that came in a Touch Pro 2 body type. Well, we've proven that is possible. Maybe one day there will be an official phone released like that, but until then I see no reason for Android development on Rhodium to slow down.

Perhaps some of the early adopters who only owned the TP2 because it was the "latest and greatest" on their carrier lineup at the time will leave when the newer Android devices come out. However (and this is just an observation I made, I'm not saying this is always the case), the real hard core talented hackers/developers are NOT the types who jump at the next new fad device. They carefully buy a device, and then keep it around until it has no useful life before retiring it for something else. The Vogue would never have gotten where it is now if this were not true.

So, between the so-far-unmatched pros of the TP2 design, the packrat legacy mentality of talented developers, and the bevy of SERO users who won't give in without a fight, I think this project will go on for quite a while. Just my .02

Yes what he said.

[mlin]

Originally Posted by dishe

Funny, most people I know who tried the moment had buyers remorse, and wished for either a) an HTC Hero or b) a Touch Pro 2.

Weird, huh?

The Moment is junk. I know many people who are unhappy with this phone.

Originally Posted by dishe

But I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with most of you guys here... As someone already mentioned, the Vogue has a complete port working 100%. Bluetooth, A2DP, Camera, GPS, you name it. In fact, many people are flashing WM off their phones bringing Android into internal NAND memory. And all this happened AFTER the Vogue was considered obsolete.

You have a point. 2 things to consider:
1) The Android port was done when Android was in early stages and there was not a plethora of Android devices available on almost every network.

2) Maybe the Vogue was obsolete, but what mattered was in the eyes of one person (DZO), it wasn't. So if we have a similar genius willing to dedicate countless hours to the TP2 port then this may happen. But it comes back to this: with so many better devices coming available, why spend the time?

Only time will tell, but I am anticipating that this project will never reach 100% completion.

[x10guy]

Originally Posted by dishe

Funny- none of the nay-sayers here seem to have anything to do with the folks actually DOING THE PORTING, so this just seems like uneducated speculation.
...
I think it will definitely happen eventually. But I think most of the posters in this thread will have moved on by then and won't care.

While your optimism is admirable I actually believe it is the other way around. You are correct in that not many people here have a hand in the development.

And you are also correct it is speculation but it isn't uneducated. If history is any guide, then it might be a while before it is complete. The Vogue (original touch) is really the only Winmo device that has an Android port that most would consider "complete". So there still is hope but if you consider how many Winmo devices there are, and how old the Vogue is, then the outlook isn't as rosy.

Again, you are correct is saying all this (on both sides!) is speculation. But to call it "uneducated" isn't fair. I mean, I sure hope your are correct but personally I have my doubts.

[TMartin]

Originally Posted by speed_mark

Thanks for your input; l I am sure glad I asked.

OK, if the Incredible is not worth the $600, I wonder if you have recommendations for an alternative Android phone for Verizon?

Is there some sort of other phone I can pick up second hand that will offer a good user experience with Android 2.1? I don't necessarily need a hard keyboard, but a nice screen is important to me.

Thanks again,

Mark

Get off Verizon ASAP and get the HTC Evo 4G when Sprint releases it this Summer!!!

[coolsilver]

Sprint in my area is very poor.

I had sprint years ago. My girlfriend has sprint and she is bitching about it even after picking up the moment the service sucks.


I'll stay with Verizon.

[speed_mark]

Oh well, I went and bought a second hand droid today. $200 for a perfectly working Android device is way better than waiting. Thanks to all of you guys. Best of luck....

[digiblur]

Originally Posted by Cobaltikus

The question was asked: Why spend time developing for a TP2 when you could be developing for phone with a faster processor?

BECAUSE OF THE KEYBOARD!!!

Those faster processor phones don't have one.

So WHY NOT spend time developing for the TP2? It's the best phone out there with a hardware keyboard. And the processor is not at all slow, it's just not as fast as the latest phones.

If you don't care about the hardware keyboard, then I'd say go ahead and switch phones - go for the best phone that meets your needs. But for those of us who don't want to give up the hardware keyboard they will hopefully keep developing this port until it has all features working or a better phone comes out that already has everything the TP2 has and more.

No doubt.. That's my biggest hold out.. There's no nice Android phone with a decent keyboard. I fell in love with the TP2 keyboard. The Moto Droid keyboard is horrible!! It was worse than the Mogul I had in 2007.

HTC needs to bust out with an EVO that has the keyboard from their TP2. Now that's a phone!

Damn you Apple and starting this onscreen keyboard garbage! I HATE ONSCREEN KEYBOARDS! I don't care if it's big... I even hate the one on the ipad, so don't say "well..the EVO screen is bigger, so it is easy to type on". Nope. There's no physical buttons to feel.

[digiblur]

I would be happy to join in on a bounty for Android working on the TP2 like it is on the Vogue. I'd drop $150 right now on the bounty.

Money talks and I believe if we wave enough in front of some talented folks they'll whip something soon.

[veeeee]

I think some of you are missing the point. The fact that there are a lot of newer and better android phones has no bearing on whether developers want to finish porting android to older HTC phones. Theres 2 reasons for working on the port. #1 is that it is interesting and fun. #2 is that they already OWN these phones and aren't likely to buy a new one until their contract runs out.

[sjs01]

Originally Posted by veeeee

I think some of you are missing the point. The fact that there are a lot of newer and better android phones has no bearing on whether developers want to finish porting android to older HTC phones. Theres 2 reasons for working on the port. #1 is that it is interesting and fun. #2 is that they already OWN these phones and aren't likely to buy a new one until their contract runs out.

I get there are a lot of newer and better android phones, but as stated most don't have the best keyboards. I understand that the full port probably won't be around for a long time, if ever. I would hope so but I doubt it. That being said, those are not only the 2 reasons people would continue with this port, it's possible that they really like the look and design, and keyboard of the Touch Pro 2 and would like to have android working on it. It's also possible that there are some developers that are on old sprint plans with good perks and the best phone they can get is a Touch Pro 2 (without upgrading and paying a lot more a month), and they would like to have android on the phone.

I don't know if the android port will ever be completed or not, I would love it to be (because I am on an old Sprint plan, and I can't get a newer android device), but at the same time I don't think it will be.