Verizon is giving me the option to replace my Samsung SCH-i760 with a Touch Pro. Not the ultimate phone, but seems like a no-brainer until the TP2 or Diamond2 comes out.
Anything I should be aware of before I make the switch? Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere but I don't have time for much searching.
Well to put it simply - YES. The only thing you will lose (other than an unstable phone and crappy screen) is the numeric keys under the screen. You will gain:
-vga screen (it is like the switch to HD on a TV - unbelievable difference)
-TV out - very cool and decent quality
-better BT quality
-MUCH better keyboard w/ dedicated number keys on top row
-more ram (I think)
-touchflo - thot I would hate it but I like it
-accelerometer
-magnetic stylus with some cool interface options for it
-3.2 meg camera
-better build quality IMHO
-winmo 6.1
The only caveat for you will be that the Verizon rom that they preinstall is a little cludgy. Just flash a rom from here SSKUsers.com - and follow thje instructions on howto do it (it is easy). And then you will have the best winmo phone available right now.
Last edited by mknollman : 04-23-2009 at 10:27 AM.
My only hesitation is that I bought a cradle, data cord, and third (high capacity) battery for the Sammy. I love the external number pad and the call quality of the Sammy but always knew it was a little 2nd-tier on some specs (eg, no Rev A), and I always love to try new phones. Verizon screwed up and sent me both a refurbished i760 last night and the new Touch Pro will arrive tonight. They said I can choose whichever one I want so, like I say, seems like a no-brainer.
Does anyone know if I can use AE Button Plus on the Touch Pro? The Sammy was a truly great one-handed portrait phone with custom button mapping.
Yes, absolutely! I still have my i730 but the TP is simply a better device, the only real downside is having less physical buttons which is a little frustrating but the addition of GPS(with the |||bored||| hack) and the touch screen that is flush mounted makes it hands down a better device.
I am also using SSK (1.5 Kitchen). Once you get rid of Vzw's install the phone is much MUCH better.
Also, will I have to load a new ROM to free up GPS capabilities instead of using Verizon's VZ Navigator? Does VZ Navigator work well? Is it expensive?
Again, sorry for the newb questions--I really appreciate your willingness to help get me up to speed.
Nope - you do not need a new rom for regular gps. You can load a cab and make a few changes and it will work. If u wanna run vznav it will work out of the box but costs $10 a month I think. Hard to swallow when there are such better solutions for free.
The TP2 is right around the corner, absolutely do not upgrade now. Wait 1-3 months for the new phones to start hitting the market.
Also the TP is not much of an improvement over the i760. I still use my i760 at home for when my TP is being a pain in the arse.
In what way is your TP a pain? Verizon ROM?
BTW, this isn't an upgrade that will limit me from getting future phones. It's a replacement for a damaged/malfunctioning i760. However, unfortunately, I doubt Verizon will be offering the TP2 or Diamond2 for a long time. They just got the Diamond. They are just sooooo sloooooow in finally making newer phones available.
The TP2 is pretty much identical to the TP, so I'm not sure what you'd buy by waiting. Particularly one VZW gets their hands on it and customizes away any interesting features on the TP2.
If you can wait, fine. But since it's a replacement phone I doubt you could.
other than a bigger screen, different keyboard, and generally huge body - the tp2 has the SAME specs as the tp - ram, processor, etc. This swap is for a damaged unit so do it. Even if vzw does get the 2 soon (they will not) you still have a newer phone to sell on ebay to help with the cost. Everyone has their own opinion but other than above I do not think you will find many folks who would take a 760 (which vz stopped selling cuz they had so many issues) over the tp. Enjoy your new phone man - use this forum and xda and it will do ANYTHING.
BTW, this isn't an upgrade that will limit me from getting future phones. It's a replacement for a damaged/malfunctioning i760. However, unfortunately, I doubt Verizon will be offering the TP2 or Diamond2 for a long time. They just got the Diamond. They are just sooooo sloooooow in finally making newer phones available.
Usually in cases like this, Verizon will also renew your New Every 2 discount. So you want to call and make sure they don't. If they do, like I suspect they will, I HIGHLY suggest just taking another i760, so that you have your discount available in a couple months when all the new phones start rolling out. The TP is not much of an improvement over the i760 and it would be well worth the wait to use that upgrade discount for something better.
Usually in cases like this, Verizon will also renew your New Every 2 discount. So you want to call and make sure they don't. If they do, like I suspect they will, I HIGHLY suggest just taking another i760, so that you have your discount available in a couple months when all the new phones start rolling out. The TP is not much of an improvement over the i760 and it would be well worth the wait to use that upgrade discount for something better.
Nope, my NE2 is still set for June. No need for you not to believe me.
I'd still like to hear how your TP has been a pain? I'll know what to look for quickly before I'm required to return the refurbished i760.
VGA, GPS, Rev A, 3.2 MP are all important upgrades to me. The larger WVGA screens of the Diamond2 or Pro2 will be an even more important upgrade as far as I'm concerned, but it will be much quicker to get one of those on AT&T or Sprint than to wait for Verizon. If I stick with Verizon and wait, at least I'll have VGA, GPS, Rev A, 3.2 MP at no extra cost to me--no brainer, unless someone can tell me of some fatal flaw of the TP. Don't like the placement of the "m" on the thumboard but imagine I'll adapt.
The battery life is a joke compared to the i760, the D-Pad is a joke. It takes some getting used to, but it's a D-Pad....you shouldn't have to get used to using one. Even then, it could still not do what you want it to. The 2D graphic performance is horrendous. Speakerphone is a lot softer than the i760. It feels like it's going to break every time you slide it open. The camera colors are too washed out, my i760 took much better pictures despite the lower resolution. Stock the device is slow as hell, especially the VZW version. With a custom rom it will be faster, but still not as fast as my stock, untweaked i760 was. The stylus doesn't extend, which I love on the samsung phones. That's just a few that I can think of.
Oh, and you will absolutely miss your front dial pad.
Yeah. I've only been playing around with the TP for 'bout an hour but so far I pretty much hate it in comparison with the i760. I like the sharper screen but I miss all my customized buttons. I could do everything so quickly with one hand on my i760. On the TP, I'm constantly using 2 hands and the keyboard or the stylus. The ergonomics of the 760, especially when customized with AE Button Plus, are light years ahead of the TP.
Believe it or not, I may stick with the old Sammy. To be fair, 'though, I haven't started fooling around with the TouchFLO yet.
Build quality of the Samsung feels much better too. The screen on the TP won't digitize well. I've read that a hard reset may help on new TPs. To be continued ...
I too hated the loss of HW buttons on this phone at first. I switched from a 6800 which has more buttons than you can point a stick at. Now I use the programs tab of touchflo and it is still 1 handed. I do agree that at first this really irked me though. I guess I just look back at how I hated moving on from my sammy 730 to the 6800 and then again from the 6800 to the pro and after a few weeks both times I was glad I did it. I see the pro as the flagship winmo phone (and songbird - lol) of its generation and don't really see much point in upgrading now until tegra processors start showing up in the wild. But back to the lack of buttons - in the end I like the program tab better as it allows iconic buttons and easy access to 9 or 18 programs in one quick slide then click. You are in a tough spot with this phone tho as a better rom makes it shine, but you might want to hold off flashing until you decide if you are keeping it.
HMM - two powerful toys to choose from - not a bad problem to have.
Last edited by mknollman : 04-25-2009 at 01:01 AM.
Just figured out how to scroll the screen with my thumb and it makes little mechanical clicking sounds. That's better than using the volume rocker for Pg-Up and Pg-Dn. Very cool.
Meh. Only because it's free and doesn't extend my contract/NE2, I think I'll keep it for a few of the significant upgrades, eg, VGA, GPS, Rev A speed bump, 3.2 MP camera, but in general I'm not happy with the superficial ways Windows Mobile phones have tried to compete with the iPhone. I'd rather have still have lots of programmable buttons rather than another fancy screen touching interface. The real deficit vs the iPhone has been screen size, not just resolution. This will finally soon be addressed by HTC with the 3.6" WVGA Touch Pro2 or the 3.2" WVGA Touch Diamond2. By that time the iPhone will finally have cut/copy & paste on a legitimate ROM so it will finally be a real contender as well.
Thank you, everyone, for helping me get up to speed with this new phone (still lots to learn), and thanks to Verizon, who bends over backwards to keep long-term customers who pay their exorbitant, price gouging phone bills on time.
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