Hi Guys - Newbie Q's

[mcchriswood]

Have my Desire now running exactly as it came too me from virgin.
I keep seeing on the forum alot of people talking about updates such as froyo 2.2.
What is this and do i need it??
If so how do i get it??
Also im looking at getting a memory card from ebay. Which brand is best too go with??

Ive recently been looking into the app market and have downloaded such things as yell, urban spoon, shopsavvy and flixster.
My phone is really for entertainment values only not work based so what good apps are there out there for me.
I dont use social networking either.
Also i'd like some new widgets...whats a good battery one with clearer info on how much battery i have left??
Is there one showing me my signal in more detail??
Any other must have apps regardless of there genre
Thanks in advance
Chris

 

[Phenomenological]

Froyo is the next version of Android. Your phone is Virgin branded, so you'll have to wait for them to release it to you. You'll get an automatic notification when that happens, so just put it out of your mind and wait!

Memory cards, go with Sandisk, and avoid eBay unless the seller has flawless feedback and a very large volume of sales. Get it from Amazon or Play to be absolutely safe - There are a lot of fake cards out there. Size wise, you'll want either 8 or 16 gigabytes depending on your budget and how much you intend to cram on it. Also, since you say you want a media orientated phone, get the fastest card you can. Preferably class 6, but at least class 4.

As for apps, download one called AppBrain, that gives you recommendations based on your currently installed apps, and also has a games category you can browse.

Hope that answers a few of your questions.

 

[mcchriswood]

thanks for your help mate
Whilst im on the subject does anyone know whether places directory by google is better than the yell.com app??
Also is there a need for me too have say the urbanspoon when i can find restaurants on yell and placesdirectory??
AppBrain is downloading now and i am looking for a card
I'm not in a great 3g and if i go into settings, wireless and networks, and click on the dropdown for mobile networks. the network mode is currently on gsm/wcdma auto - would i get a better signal by changing this?? maybe to only gsm??
Thanks
Chris

which 8gb one of these would i need http://www.play.com/Mobiles/Mobile/6-/Search.html?searchstring=sandisk&searchtype=MBLS&searchsource=1&searchfilters=s%7bsandisk%7d%2bc%7b397%7d%2b&cpage=1

 

[Phenomenological]

I like places directory, it's useful for locating nearby attractions, and its very easy to get to a map from the application. Haven't tried the Yell app, or the Urbanspoon one, so can't comment on them.

If you change the phone to GSM only, your phone will stop hunting for 3G which may save battery life if you are in a low signal area. However I'd recommend forking out the pennies to buy SwitchPro. It's only of my very few paid apps - It puts a box on your homescreen which allows you to turn things like Wifi, GPS, and the 3G connection on or off with one tap. Using that you can stop it hunting for the 3G network, but still have quick access to it if you need to use mobile data.

I'm actually surprised how hard it is finding class 4 and class 6 microSD cards. I'm assuming they don't sell that well due to their price.

 

[mcchriswood]

right great thanks.
I have a HTC widget on my screen for wi-fi and mobile internet already and believe there is one that includes bluetooth and a couple of other btis too already on the phone??
Say for instance i select GSM only network. Then i turn my mobileinternet off and try and connect to the internet whilst out. Does this mean it will not connect via 3g and will be slower??
Or what will happen??
Thanks

 

[Pedro7]

for the memory card, you can get the transcend 8gb class 6 card from amazon for

 

[SUroot]

for the memory card, you can get the transcend 8gb class 6 card from amazon for

 

[mcchriswood]

cant find it on amazon.
the 8gb one i listed from play what class is that??
Is it that important??
thanks

 

[snowmobile]

Also i'd like some new widgets...whats a good battery one with clearer info on how much battery i have left??

Battery Left is a good battery widget and it can be customised to show the information you want. It also provides a useful shortcut to the battery usage statistics rather than going through the settings menu.

right great thanks.
I have a HTC widget on my screen for wi-fi and mobile internet already and believe there is one that includes bluetooth and a couple of other btis too already on the phone??
Say for instance i select GSM only network. Then i turn my mobileinternet off and try and connect to the internet whilst out. Does this mean it will not connect via 3g and will be slower??
Or what will happen??
Thanks

Setting to GSM only will mean that the phone will connect to the internet using the slower G speed even if a faster 3G/H connection is available.

I can't think of any reason why you would want to do that. The main use for this setting is if you are in an area where you know there is no 3G signal and it prevents the phone from using battery constantly searching for one.

I think you need to leave the mobile internet widget to on to connect (even on GSM only) but I may be wrong.

 

[mcchriswood]

thanks mate. only reason i have to set it to gsm only is because it boosts me from 2 bars signal to 3.
On another note is the call quality in geeral on a htc desire quite tinny and like electricy?? If that makes sense.
Its nowhere near on par with my nokia x6 i had.
The phone i have is a reconditioned one im wondering if thats the problem??
Thanks

 

[WozzaTT]

thanks mate. only reason i have to set it to gsm only is because it boosts me from 2 bars signal to 3.
On another note is the call quality in geeral on a htc desire quite tinny and like electricy?? If that makes sense.
Its nowhere near on par with my nokia x6 i had.
The phone i have is a reconditioned one im wondering if thats the problem??
Thanks

It's normal I'm afraid - the speakers aren't very good.

 

[Phenomenological]

You can think of the Desire as a handheld computer with a phone added in as an afterthought.