HTC Desire - Tips, tricks and Apps

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kiwitrc

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Topic # 60136 20-Apr-2010 10:49

With the other threads on the Desire being a bit more specific, ie getting hold of one and reviews (1) and (2) I thought now might be a good time to start a tips tricks and Apps thread so as to try and centralise specific topics of interest about the Desire.

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Reply # 320591 20-Apr-2010 10:53

Might as well kick it off, I am having difficulty connecting Bluetooth to my PC using Win 7. I can pair but cant connect? Anybody?

kiwitrc

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Reply # 320613 20-Apr-2010 12:02

Ignore the bluetooth issue, sorted!

RevoWution

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Reply # 320861 20-Apr-2010 19:50

I'm not entirely sure if this is a problem per se, or just where I'm located (central Auckland), but I've only ever been able to receive HSDPA (H in the taskbar) and GPRS (G in the taskbar) for mobile internet since day 1.

If I chuck the phone into GSM mode only, I only get GPRS (the little G in the notification bar, and it's painfully slow!), but I get more bars of cellphone reception.

If I have it on GSM/WCDMA mode, 90% of the time, I get HSDPA, but on rare instances, I've gotten GPRS. And I find that I get less reception bars in this mode too.

I have yet to see 3G in my notification bar, and was wondering if anyone else has this problem?

BigMal

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Reply # 320884 20-Apr-2010 20:13

I found this cool link
http://nimbu.amorvi.com/

kiwitrc

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Reply # 320972 20-Apr-2010 21:33

That is a very cool site

NZtechfreak

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Reply # 320999 20-Apr-2010 21:55

I was aware of most of the things posted to that blog, having picked up bits from threads in XDA/Android Forums/Modaco forums etc, but that is an excellent one-stop-shop - wish I had known about it to begin with! Thanks!

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NZtechfreak

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Reply # 321193 21-Apr-2010 10:07

Heres a good thread at XDA detailing some of the annoyances people have had with the handset, and resolutions where available:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=666332

(for some reason can't embed the link in text today?)

Lots of those tips suggest using Google Exhange Sync, rather than using the Gmail app on the phone to sync, which I heartily agree with - heres how to set it up (credit to ebg10 at XDA):

"To get this working open email, and make a new exchange account and put in your gmail email address and password and then select manual setup. Select exchange account. For Domain/Username put in "/username@gmail.com" without quotes. The password should be filled in from the previous field. The Exchange server is "m.google.com" without quotes. Check both boxes below and hit next. Select the checking frequency(or push) and amount to synchronize. Select which options you want below, then select next. Put in an account name and display name, then hit done. If you have corporate calendar installed, then your calendar will synchronize and so will your contacts and email. Now you have push gmail, contacts, and calendar."

Once you've done that you can switch of all sync (contacts/cal/email) in the Google Account settings.

This isn't really a tip, but a software recommendation - Newsroom is an excellent RSS reader! Doesn't sync with Google Reader if thats a big issue for you, but its so good I'm getting rid of the HTC RSS reader widget (which never updated hourly like it was meant to, and displayed stories awkwardly on the widget, but was very good as a free solution). Best thing is you can view the whole article with images right from the program, no opening the browser, and it'll even store them on your SD card for say inflight/offline reading.

FWIW, here are the other apps I've installed so far, still waiting for Google to sign off on the firmware for the Desire in order to see copy-protected apps in the app store so there are a few more I'd like that I can't get to yet:

Tunewiki - excellent player that grabs timed lyrics to what you're listening on the devices music library and displays them onscreen, will also find youTube vids of the songs you're listening to (even does timed lyrics for some vids!), even Scrobbles to LastFM

LastFM

Fring

Shazam

Astro file manager (a must have)

GRemote Pro (I already had a license from my WM device, they allow you to port it)

Run.GPS - sportstracker software par excellence! Integrates with my Zephyr heart rate monitor, same as GRemote, they allow multiple device activations over both WinMo and Android!

SMS Backup - backups your texts to your Gmail account in the background

Barcode scanner

gStrings - not what is sounds like! Its a guitar tuner!

Google Sky map

GameBOID - truly excellent GBA emulator, hours of fun to be had here!

Vignette - excellent photo editor, many effects including some cool stuff like Tilt-shift photography (if you haven't heard of it try Googling it, its very cool!)

CoPilot Live Navigation AU/NZ, voice guided turn-by-turn navigation, works well (free alternative is available, check the link given in the earlier post)

NewsRoom trial (can't get the paid version because of aforementioned Market limitations!)

Andoku Sudoku

Gesture search and Gesture Search Bar

Bubble - spirit level application

Abduction, fun little free game

Google Goggles

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Reply # 321239 21-Apr-2010 11:41

To add new ringtones or SMS alerts, connect your Desire to USB and mount the device on your PC. Browser to the following folders:

Ringtones: /sdcard/media/audio/ringtones
SMS Alerts: /sdcard/media/audio/notifications
Alarm Alerts: /sdcard/media/audio/alarms

Copy your mp3 files into either of the folders above. Then go to:

Ringtone:Settings > sound and display > phone ringtone
SMS: Settings > sound and display > notification sound
Alarms: Set the sound when adding a new alarm.

Then select the ringtone you put in the above folder(s).

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Reply # 321284 21-Apr-2010 12:59

RevoWution: I'm not entirely sure if this is a problem per se, or just where I'm located (central Auckland), but I've only ever been able to receive HSDPA (H in the taskbar) and GPRS (G in the taskbar) for mobile internet since day 1. [...] I have yet to see 3G in my notification bar

I haven't used an Android phone yet, but if it's anything like my Sony Ericsson then that's normal. HSDPA is better than "normal" 3G so the H icon appears instead of the generic 3G one.

RevoWution

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Reply # 321294 21-Apr-2010 13:14

Behodar: I haven't used an Android phone yet, but if it's anything like my Sony Ericsson then that's normal. HSDPA is better than "normal" 3G so the H icon appears instead of the generic 3G one.

Cheers for the clarification :)

I just find it weird how I get the "better 3G" (H) 90% of the time, and the rest of time, if I'm in a poor reception area, I pick up the "super slow GPRS" (G), and have never managed to pick up the "normal 3G" (3G).

kiwitrc

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Reply # 321297 21-Apr-2010 13:20

RevoWution:
Behodar: I haven't used an Android phone yet, but if it's anything like my Sony Ericsson then that's normal. HSDPA is better than "normal" 3G so the H icon appears instead of the generic 3G one.

Cheers for the clarification :)

I just find it weird how I get the "better 3G" (H) 90% of the time, and the rest of time, if I'm in a poor reception area, I pick up the "super slow GPRS" (G), and have never managed to pick up the "normal 3G" (3G).

I dont get H G or 3G? Have I not set something up properly?

RevoWution

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Reply # 321303 21-Apr-2010 13:31

What do you get in your notification bar when you're not using WiFi at home? :)

kiwitrc

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Reply # 321305 21-Apr-2010 13:37

RevoWution: What do you get in your notification bar when you're not using WiFi at home? :)

Aaaaah!! Thanks, I havent had WIFI off as I have it at home, at work and several places in between ;)

Now I get H when WIFI is off.

Behodar

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Reply # 321306 21-Apr-2010 13:39

RevoWution: I just find it weird how I get the "better 3G" (H) 90% of the time, and the rest of time, if I'm in a poor reception area, I pick up the "super slow GPRS" (G), and have never managed to pick up the "normal 3G" (3G).

I'm not in a Vodafone coverage area so take this with a grain of salt, but I think that HSDPA and "3G" have identical coverage, ie. I don't think you'll ever fall back from one to the other.

RevoWution

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Reply # 321307 21-Apr-2010 13:46

kiwitrc: Aaaaah!! Thanks, I havent had WIFI off as I have it at home, at work and several places in between ;)

Now I get H when WIFI is off.

Glad to hear you got it sorted! :) How many bars of reception do you typically get? I usually only get around 2-3 bars for some reason :/

Behodar: I'm not in a Vodafone coverage area so take this with a grain of salt, but I think that HSDPA and "3G" have identical coverage, ie. I don't think you'll ever fall back from one to the other.

Oh right. It's just that I was reading the user manual and it mentioned the three possible symbols you could get in the notification bar while using mobile internet; H for HSDPA, 3G for 3G, and G for GPRS, and I was wondering why I've never seen the 3G haha.

Guess that's reserved for countries/areas where HSDPA isn't available :)

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