Manila TF3D - What's The Point?

[Mr_Alexander]

These are my thoughts on TF3D....

I like it. I find that it has allowed me to access most features of my phone with greater ease than just the normal WM today screen. Scrolling to a tab to see or access functions doesn't really bother me at all. See I had been using Manilla 2D on my Titan for some time before getting my TP so I'm used to it. In ways TouchFlo has made these phones more a one hand device using my big fat thumb is especially useful at times. Of all the other today plugins & shells I find this one works the best for me....definitely when M2D had me at only 39% available RAM on my Titan!

Now I do strongly believe that it could be better. I myself would rather have the ability to see/adjust bluetooth & wifi from the today screen and have more of my calender visible as well. Even with TF3D Diamond Config I would like to have more options to make the today screen reflect what I want more. But the ability to adjust the order of the tabs, the one finger usability & the general look is preferable to me.

As with all the other UI's I've tried I expect to see improvements to TF3D come down the pike & I look forward to trying them out.

MHO

[Gorby]

I consider myself a "power" WinMo user, but I am sure the definition of that varies greatly as well. I have been a Pocket PC user all the way from first PDAs running WinCE, PPC, and now WM. I use my Touch Pro for work and get all of my Exchange server emails, tasks, contacts, and schedule synched via a data push. I upgraded to Touch Pro from Mogul and initially had mixed feelings about TF3D. But after using it for a few days now and using a custom ROM that removed all Sprint tabs from it that I don't need, I actually like it and I think it is an improvement and more then an eye candy. As many posters pointed out, it may suit the needs of some and others will find it shortcoming - it all depends on what YOU are used to, how YOU use your phone, and what is important to YOU. I have used SPB Mobile Shell and it is nice and much more customizable, but I find that TF3D works just fine for my needs and I can zoom around and do things very efficiently and never touch the stylus.

Jazee, in regards to why some people called your initial post a "rant" is because, contrary to your statement that you are simply trying to get other people perspective, you wrote things like "slap in the face from HTC...", "half-baked solution to Windows Mobile users who have some sort of inferiority complex", "what the REAL BENEFIT", "What a joke", "How pathetic",...etc. So according to all this I am just a user with an inferiority complex that want to make people thinks that I really wanted an iPhone...? Hardly so. If you are truly looking for a constructive feedback, then you should first start with a constructive post without offending anyone else in the process.

A "slap in the face" would be for HTC to force you to use their interface with no alternative. Instead, you can just uncheck ONE single checkbox and never see TF3D in your life. Now that's the flexibility I want from every manufacturer - offer me something extra but don't force me to use it. You can not please everyone. I thank HTC for going above and beyond and trying to help solve WM shortcomings.

Lastly, personally, I find your statement about importance of weather being displayed on today's screen being as significant as time, simply laughable to say the least. I would absolutely NOT want weather taking space on my screen all day. I check time several times a day since I forget my watch frequently; but I check the weather TWICE - when I am getting ready in the morning and when I go to bed at night so I know what tomorrow will look like. It works perfectly for me to do a quick swipe with a finger in TF3D to see the weather twice a day and not see it in between. Where do you live that you need to check weather every hour or are you a meteorologist??

[jmorton10]

Originally Posted by Gorby

A "slap in the face" would be for HTC to force you to use their interface with no alternative. Instead, you can just uncheck ONE single checkbox and never see TF3D in your life. Now that's the flexibility I want from every manufacturer -

Right, that's exactly what I was saying.

Is TF3D eye candy?? Sure it is, but I find it makes the phone more fun to use, & even though I have Mobile Shell installed & customized I constantly find myself going back to TF3D just because I like it.

I have played with a bunch of different TF3D themes & I LOVE messing with it, it keeps me from getting bored with the phone as nothing but a "business tool". I have installed extra tabs & deleted the ones I would never use, rearranged the tab order etc etc & at this point TF3D along with 2nd today for weather panel & Pocket Informant mapped to the TF home screen calendar link is the absolutely perfect setup for me (& I am far from a noob user)

~John

[jazee]

Points well taken. My view of TF3D being a 'halfway' solution that is has only a very shallow integration with the O/S is a widely accepted view amongst professionals who review phones for a living. Yes 'slap in the face' is a bit strong as is words like pathetic. My apologies if that choice of words upset you, but essentially if you and many others like TF3D more than the naitive Windows Mobile interface it IS essentially a slap in the face to MICROSOFT. Who has more resources for software interface development, HTC or Microsoft? So then what does having to slap on TF3D as an overlay that is not integrated with the operating systems say, especially if so many people like yourself like it? Seems to me it says even with a lot of resources, Microsoft's design brainpool and adjility in improving products is sorely lacking to the point the hardware manufacturer has to slap on their own adhoc interface. But we're all used to it, I've been a WM users for years now. So I see no factual evidence that proves anything to the contrary of my 'slap in the face' and my 'halfway' 'half baked' (whatever) solution statements. I suppose I could use a more anemic choice of words but its free speech so I think censoring myself is uncessary.

But back to the topic at hand. Regarding your statement about the weather, that fully proves your point about "what YOU are used to, how YOU use your phone, and what is important to YOU" As you find my opinion regarding the weather forecast on the Today screen is more useful than a giant clock as being laughable, I find the fact that you don't wear a wristwatch equally as laughable.

This isn't a contest though. We've seen multiple people post that they like and use TF3D and multiple people that don't like and don't use it. So essentially the answer to my original post is really yes and no. It isn't, oh no, you have no idea all these features and settings you haven't discovered. And it isn't, the thing sucks, almost no one is using it. I considered my question essentially answered.

I can pretty much guarantee the vast number of people whether they use TF3D or don't use it, still wear wrist watches and those watches don't give the weather forecast. You essentially contradict or disregard your own assertion of the YOU YOU YOU reasoning when you say that YOU (I) having the weather forecast instead of the clock is laughable.

Since we are critiquing people's style of writing or choice of words, maybe if you were true to the YOU YOU YOU philosophy all you had to say was, since YOU wear a wristwatch I can see how you might think using that space where the big clock is for the weather forecast is more useful to YOU, but not to me, since I forget to where a watch a lot, and left it at that.

I'm a surveyor and work outside all day. That's why the weather forecast is important to me. Plus I wear a wrist watch for the time. Your contention my use of the weather forecast on my phone is laughable is both insulting and demonstates YOU don't know anything about who I am or what I do.

One last word on the freackin iPhone. What is it with you guys and the iPhone? Who cares what phone other people own (unless maybe you are a teenager?) If anyone has some sort of inferiority complex, it sure as hell ain't me. People can talk all they want about the iPhone, ain't going to get a rise out of me. Never owned one but I am open to different opinions and perspectives so I don't mind going someone going on an on about the iPhone just as much as I don't mind them going on and on about how great TF3D is. If I get sick of it, I can switch threads. I Don't feel threatened at all when people try to assert their device has advantages over others. Like I said, it's just a freakin phone, it doesn't represent your self-worth or intelligence or something as a person, geezus. But some people sure seem to look at it that way.

Do I want an iPhone? No. Do I want a good interface that is part of the operating system? Yes. What's wrong with that? Nothing.

[SprintTouch08]

Originally Posted by Gorby

Jazee, in regards to why some people called your initial post a "rant" is because, contrary to your statement that you are simply trying to get other people perspective, you wrote things like "slap in the face from HTC...", "half-baked solution to Windows Mobile users who have some sort of inferiority complex", "what the REAL BENEFIT", "What a joke", "How pathetic",...etc. So according to all this I am just a user with an inferiority complex that want to make people thinks that I really wanted an iPhone...? Hardly so. If you are truly looking for a constructive feedback, then you should first start with a constructive post without offending anyone else in the process.

A "slap in the face" would be for HTC to force you to use their interface with no alternative. Instead, you can just uncheck ONE single checkbox and never see TF3D in your life. Now that's the flexibility I want from every manufacturer - offer me something extra but don't force me to use it. You can not please everyone. I thank HTC for going above and beyond and trying to help solve WM shortcomings.

EXACTLY. As i said before this started off a rant thread. The only laughable thing here is trying to deny this and pin it on other people for having their own opinions. So yes, it is all about you you you, and i i i. Everyone can have their own opinion just as Jazee and post it. But its ridiculous to start rant and rave threads like these and then try to say you were looking for opinions with such phrases quoted. If you want real honest opinions comes at a topic neutral not spouting off how crappy this and that is and then proclaim to be neutral looking for opinions when you dont want to hear them, or do not align with thou's own.

I nominate this thread for closure since this started off a bad way and will just end in a bad way since we all get the motive of the OP to start stuff with other people when they dont join the his hate train of Tflo3d

[Gorby]

Jazee - in case if you missed it, let me point it out - what I said about weather I started with the word "personally" which implies that for me personally it is laughable and unimportant. This also implies that for other people (you for example per your explanation) it is not laughable and is important. That goes perfectly fine with my "YOU YOU YOU" (as you put it) comments, so I am not contradicting anything I said before. Regardless of how many paragraphs you will type, for me personally it is still unimportant and laughable. For you, and I am sure other people who run Wether Panel (which is a great app by the way) it is obviously not. So again, I personally still think it is laughable and having pretty weather icons on the today screen is no less of an eye candy then saying that TF3D is one.

Have a good and sunny day.

[blazinazn]

Originally Posted by jazee

2. No easy way to switch between Touch Flo and WM Today screens without installing 3rd party app
3. No lock screen
4. Home screen provides little 'at a glance' information due to big clock taking up too much room. It limits you to only 2 or 3 lines of appointments even in collapsed clock view.
5. The photo flipping is gimicky. In the Contact manager, it looks great, but is only practical if you have 3 or fewer favorite people. You might use photo flipping to show off the phone, but for all practicality, when you actually want to call someone the slider is better.
6. SMS and Email are lumped together
7. Weather takes up the whole screen instead of just being part of the Home Screen whether you are looking at current conditions or a 5-day forecast. Weather is like time, it should be something you can quickly glance at on the home screen.
8. No way to add/remove or reorder the selections at the bottom

5.

2. No easy way to switch between Touch Flo and WM Today screens without installing 3rd party app

Isn't it great to be American? You have the freedom of choice!

3. No lock screen

Start > Settings > System > Long Press End Key

You can set it to lock your phone, no 3rd party app necessary

4. Home screen provides little 'at a glance' information due to big clock taking up too much room. It limits you to only 2 or 3 lines of appointments even in collapsed clock view.

That's your own personal preference really. Personally, I don't want a lot of stuff cluttering up my wallpaper of Jessica Alba But for users like yourself, you CAN just disable it.

5. The photo flipping is gimicky. In the Contact manager, it looks great, but is only practical if you have 3 or fewer favorite people. You might use photo flipping to show off the phone, but for all practicality, when you actually want to call someone the slider is better.

So just remove it then? See below

6. SMS and Email are lumped together

How so? Last time I checked there is a separate icon for sms and email? Am I not understanding the question? I select SMS for SMS and Email for Email. I must be missing something..

7. Weather takes up the whole screen instead of just being part of the Home Screen whether you are looking at current conditions or a 5-day forecast. Weather is like time, it should be something you can quickly glance at on the home screen.

Again, personal preference. I don't want to know the weather for 5 different surrounding cities/counties and I sure as heck don't want this cluttering up my homescreen. But I understand that it is useful/wanted for some people...

8. No way to add/remove or reorder the selections at the bottom

Sure there is...I organized mine and you can add delete tabs that you don't want/need. Check out this tutorial...

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=44689

Post #2

I rearranged the order of the bottom row to stuff I use more often than not.

Like other users have said, to each his own. For me, using TF3D is practical and I like it...

[CozBoogie]

In the immortal words of John Wayne, "amp it down pilgrims."

late,
Coz

Let me know if you need a "pilgrim" to "geek" translation.

[prototypedc]

like u said we are all in titled to our opinions but u contradict ur self so many times i lost count
i mean u seem like a smart guy but i think we all would have alot more respect for u if u would jus say what u mean an mean what u say and stop flipin ur words

[touchrunner]

TF3D was firstly developed by HTC IMHO to sell phones to new users and reading the sales figures of the Diamond Family...its worked !!
And in the process they have made an excellent interface that we WM users can be proud off...hats off....compare them to other wm manufacturer today screens...they don't compare....until 2008 all we had was a homescrren dating back to 2001 or so.

Almost everything is a slide and touch away.

Remember most phone interfaces have looked bland....until this came along....the iphone interface don't compare to this.

Bacause this thread is turning into me me me I I I . I think the homescreen posted in the first post is crap....but thats my opinion.