Digital Compass in HTC Leo confirmed again – actually comes with a useful app
September 29th, 2009 | 
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The presence of the digital compass in the HTC Leo has not under quite a bit of question, with the presence only previously hinted at by a test application.
The latest HTC Leo leaked ROMs however contain an application which makes it very clear the device is in fact equipped with the hardware, and unlike Apple’s version the device will actually come with a useful application out of the box.
The application is written in LUA, the same language as TouchFlo3D and allows one to set a destination, after which an arrow will point in that direction.
Fards from XDA-Dev’s has this picture and some information about the application here, while Makeval has the icon associated with it.
With the compass in place, the device meets most of the Windows Mobile 7 criteria, except for the built-in ROM, which at 512 MB is less than the 1 GB WM7 apparently demands.
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Aww, the ROM is half the size necessary for WM7? Damn. Oh well, the HTC Leo has been so unimaginably perfect in so many other ways that to decry it now would be ludicrous.
I have not been following on WM7 as much as I probably should, but it's so far away that it doesn't seem to matter. If it requires that much space, then it'll probably come out when that much space is pretty much the standard.
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Phew, I'd read somewhere that the compass hardware wasn't present and was very disappointed.
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im clueless about this, but what's the advantage of having a digital compass other than going hiking?
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WM7Lover Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 4:31 am
The compass is, initially at least, most important in GPS programs. Have you ever used Google Maps? The iPhone version uses the compass to calibrate what direction you're facing and uses it to make use the direction you're heading in is always at the top (making it easier to use GM).
Of course, this is less useful in dedicated GPS solutions such as Tomtom, but even Tomtom doesn't know which direction you're facing initially (and it won't until you moved a bit), so there is also some uses here.
Nonetheless, the compass does sound limited right now (largely used by GPS solutions), but I do see alternative possible uses for it. For example, how about a golf game that uses the compass in combination with weather data to force you to change direction in person in order to get better shots inside the game? Or how about an app that uses the compass in combination with GPS/mapping data in order to point you in the direction of interesting locations regardless of where you are (I believe 'reality apps' are currently doing something similar)?
There are multiple possible applications for the compass and to not include it now just because apps are limited would be rather short-sighted, I think.
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patiently waiting Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 6:09 am
thank you for that explanation. That's what i was curious about because I have TomTom on my Diamond and the GPS works fine (also functional in GoogleMaps) so i was a bit perplex as to why a compass is necessary.
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this is how chassis 1 specs describe memory:
Memory: 256MB+ DRAM, 1G+ Flash (at least 512MB fast flash – 5MB/s unbuffered read @4K block size)
So maybe that 512 MB in Leo meets the specs. Let's hope it does, coz not being able to install WM7 will be deal breaker for me
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Waka Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 8:52 am
This will be a deal breaker for me too.
I expect to be forced on to an 18 month (at least) contract when I get this phone and Winmo 7 will surely be out during that time. If I can't then update this handset, I'll be very disappointed. I wonder how/when/if it will be confirmed?
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mighty Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Whether there will be an official upgrade to WM7 or not, will be announced along with the device. But most probably there won't be. There's also a small probability that some months later HTC announces the upgrade; remains to be seen
Whether or not it will be installable (cooked ROMs); well we have to hope xda devs find a way and I think they will!
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WM7Lover Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Yeah, I had hopes that XDA might find a way around that too, but the fact that a 1GB ROM is required makes it seems a bit iffy. Due to that, I highly doubt the HTC Leo will have an official upgrade to WM7, but XDA may find a way around it. After all, they put WM6.5 on the HTC Hermes (64MB RAM, 128MB ROM, 400Mhz processor) when it was largely made for phones with much better specs.
On the other hand, I really hope that the 1GB ROM requirement is just Microsoft wanting users to have a lot of extra space, otherwise installing WM7 on phones with 512MB ROM might leave users with barely any space to actually use the phone (or with a heavily stripped WM7).
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mighty Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
actually, 6.5 is ported to even HTC blue angel with only 32 MBs of ROM
They stripped off many things off the original WM6 to port it to blue angel, but it happened! And it was FAST !! lol
So high hopes!
mighty Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
actually, 6.5 is ported to even HTC blue angel with only 32 MBs of ROM
They stripped off many things from the original WM6 to port it to blue angel, but it happened! And it was FAST !! lol
So high hopes!