A useful post, with useful free application

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I'm addicted to flashing. But I like my apps. Ive collected some good ones, and I hope that this thread is useful. I had always wished that there would be a central place that I could look at for quality apps for the Excalibur. I will try to get the .cab files on this post, but for now all download links are in descriptions:


Web Browsers:

Opera Mini: The most functional internet browser for the Excalibur. the .cab file(s) is attached in the 2nd post on this thread.

Skyfire: Better web browser, plays flash. Slow on the Excalibur no matter which ROM you use  Official site here.

Bolt Browser: Currently in open beta, is a Java program and works like Opera Mini, but based on webkit. Worth a try if you are looking for something new. Official site here.


Communication:

Windows Live: An essential, allows push email if you have a Hotmail or lLve account. Offical site here.

Facebook: Is a good application that runs smoothly. My only gripe with it is that the feeds are not pushed to the application. Instead if you want to find something out, you have to refresh it. You can upload pictures, videos, update status, comment on other's, etc. I have the .cab attached or it is here

Tiny Twitter: The best twitter client for our phone. Official site here.

Palringo: My favorite IM application. Does all the typical IM services, but also Facebook! Awesome. Official site here.

Fring: Another decent IM software. I prefer Palringo. But if your taste differs, official site is here.

Skype: Fun, useful and saves minutes if you pay. You can send texts for free through it though. A defeinite plus. Official site here.


Entertainment:

Kinoma FreePlay: An excellent media application. Although it does use quite a bit of memory- its All-In-One aspect justifies its use of RAM. It plays your music, photos, and video... But you can also access YouTube, stream radio stations, Flickr, you name it! Kinoma FreePlay is free but the upgraded version, Kinoma Play is $30. Official site is here, its worth checking out.

SmartGear: The best emulator for windows mobile. Plays Sega Genesis, Gamegear, NES, GBC. It is free to try, $10 to buy. Official site here.

Pocket Nester Plus: Free, but not as good as SmartGear. Only plays NES games. Find to download here.

Kevtris: Best Tetris game for windows mobile in my opinion. Download here.

Pandora: Update New pandora .cab tested and working good on WM 6.5 EVO 2.0 Naturally works best with WiFi since the Dash has no 3G. The .cab is attached to this post.

TCPMP: The most versatile, and free media player. Will play almost anything you throw at it (like a vlc for windows mobile). You can download either here or here with extra codec support.


Navigation/Search:

Google Maps Mobile: Best mapping application for our phone. Official site here.

Bing: If you are familiar with Windows Live Search, this is it- rebranded. It is useful. Official site here.


Backup:

Microsoft MyPhone: Backs up your texts, media, contacts. Overall useful application if you don't go for Dashwire. Official site here.

Dashwire: Free, like Microsoft's MyPhone, it is a backup of contacts, pictures, videos, etc. But then from online you can send texts from your phone. Its cool. Again, .cab is attached but official site is here


Organization:

Microsoft Recite: Stores voice memos and can look them up via your own speech. Surprisingly useful. Worth a try. Official site here.


EDIT: There are lots of members contributing to this thread with lots of other great applications. Please read through the comments below because there is some great stuff to find here!

If you feel like I have missed an application, please post it and share!
If you like this thread, please say it. I (think) I'm doing good by posting this thread and making newcomers, or more experienced users, lives easier.

Overview HTC Excalibur

HTC Excalibur

HTC S620 / HTC S621 / Rogers & HTC S621 / Dopod C720W / Dopod C720 / T-Mobile Dash / T-Mobile MDA Mail / O2 Xda Cosmo / Orange SPV E600

Overview

• Quad-band EDGE/GPRS
• Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 smartphone
  • Supported upgrades to WM6.0 from HTC, T-Mobile, and others. Unsupported upgrades to WM6.5 here on xda-developers
  • Newer "DASH" models from T-Mobile-USA come with a new color scheme and WM6.1 installed. Still no official upgrade path for older phones.
• 2.4-inch QVGA display, fixed landscape mode, 320x240px
• JOGGR control pad for scrolling, browser-back, and browser-launch...remappable via the registry or other tools
• Integrated keyboard
• MS Office and PDF viewers included
• Microsoft Outlook Mobile for e-mail:supports POP3 and IMAP mail accounts, as well as Direct Push to deliver mail as it comes in
• ROM 128MB, RAM 64MB
• Supports up to 2GB SD (transflash) cards
  • WM6.1 supports higher-capacity SD cards
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• ~WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity with wireless stereo
• PC connection via ~MiniUSB
• Overall dimensions 111.5mm(L) x 62.5mm(W) x 12.8mm(T)
  • 4.4 inches by 2.5 inches by 0.51 inches
• Advertised talk time of 5 hours, standby time of 9 days
  • Higher-capacity batteries (with larger covers) are available through third-party vendors

Also Known As

• Rogers or HTC S620 / HTC S621
• Orange SPV E600
• T-Mobile Dash
• T-Mobile MDA Mail (No Wi-Fi)
• Dopod C720W
• O2 Xda Cosmo
• BT HTC S620 (UK Only)

ROMs & Updates

• How do I change or upgrade my phone's ROM? HTC_Excalibur_WM61
• A fairly complete upgrade guide with links to videos of the process
• Better yet, gixxum has made the most complete upgrade guide of all time for the Excalibur.
• Which ROMs are available for the Excalibur?
• How do I unlock my phone?
• Using another carrier's SIM in a T-Mobile USA phone: With an account in good standing for over 90 days, you can request a SIM unlock code from T-Mobile. When you change to another carrier's SIM card, the phone will prompt you for the code.
• Sim Unlock by code commercial solution
• How do I cook (make) my own ROMs?
• How do I change the carrier/manufacturer boot screen? (placed here because it requires a re-flash)
• Can I run Android on my Excalibur?

FAQs and Bibles

These resources apply to WM5-6, and may also apply to WM6.1

• FAQ that is, frequently asked questions about the Excalibur. From the HTC wiki.
• Browser Bible Just about everything you ever wanted to know about browsing on a smartphone. Includes info on viewing embedded flash videos.
• Java MIDlet Bible A complete guide to using java apps on your smartphone.
• Button remapping Bible Explains methods and applications for remapping keys on your smartphone, as well as adding application shortcuts.
• Internationalization Bible Help with changing eT9/xT9 languages.
• The YouTube Bible or how Alice learned to believe seven impossible things before breakfast.

Settings

• [How do I customize the WM6.1 Sliding Panels theme?|HTC_Excalibur_CHome]
• [Where do I put my tones?|HTC_Excalibur_Tips#tones]
• [How about my pictures?|HTC_Excalibur_Tips#pictures]
• [What shortcut keys are available?|HTC_Excalibur_Tips#Shortcuts]
• [What super-cool registry edits are available?|Excalibur_iface]
• Changing the background for the Start Menu
• Changing the background for the in-call screen
• Changing the font size for editing text messages
• Changing the homescreen text color
• Switching the comm manager from Microsoft to HTC (and back)
• Adding Startup/Shutdown pictures and animations
• Changing the default keypad tones from DTMF to a voice (or anything else)
• Changing the default Internet Explorer homepage
• Keeping ~WiFi on after a reboot
• [Introduction to registry editing|registry]
• [How do I set up my connections for the T-Zones plan?|HTC_Excalibur_WM61tzones]
• (T-Mobile USA $5.99 plan)
• NB: With the 3G rollout, loopholes like this will be disappearing quickly. $19 plan for everyone will be the way to go.
• How do I set up an Excalibur for use on AT&T? HTC_Excalibur_ATT
• How do I set up an Excalibur for use in previously SunCom areas for T-Mobile?
• What are the MMS Settings for BT (British Telecom)? Check the 100k limit below as well.
• How do I make Opera Mini my default browser?
• Alternate way to make Opera the default.
• How do I send MMS larger than 100k on Ricky's ROMs?
• I have random alarms. How do I stop them?
• Mobile websites for your browser HTC_Excalibur_sites
• How do I manage my favorites? HTC_Excalibur_sites#Making

Hard Reset Procedures

• Press Start -> Accessories -> Clear Storage, press enter to launch, you will be prompted to type "1234" and to press Enter. If you do this you will lose all contents and the Dash will be restored to its original configuration. It takes about 5 minutes for it do this and reboot.

• If you are locked up and can't get to the Clear Storage utility, turn the phone off; hold down the two softkey menu select buttons (above the home and <- buttons); press power on while still holding the buttons down and follow the prompts on the screen. Timing is critical on the latter option, so if you miss it once, try again.

Helpful Applications and Add-ons

From the xda-developers team

• NRG Weather plugin (WM6.1) A weather plugin for sliding panels. Feature rich, but no longer in development.
• NRG ~MiniWeather plugin (WM6.1) NRG's newest weather project. It's smaller, but has fewer options. It's also in current development.
• ODSHOWeather plugin (WM6.1) is an alternative weather script that places the weather information in your clock panel at the top of the screen. It's an improvement of the above apps by outerdepth and showaco and claims to be trouble-free as well as providing weather radar display.
• Feather Weather by showaco manages to give a lot of information into a small space. Its the smallest at 950 kb but has tons of weather data provided in a clean interface.
• Screenshots of the above four weather plugins CHome_Weather

• CHome Configurator (WM6.1) is a tool to help tweak the display of the CHome panels to individual preference.
• Instructions with pics on how to use the configurator.
• Alphanuma (WM6.0+) skins your dialing and call-progress screens and adds a bar with the correlations between the number keys and which letters they represent. (See below for another option).
• Carousel (WM6.0+)your homescreen if you're tired of sliding panels.
• Pocket Sports Center Plugin (WM6.1) adds sports scores to your homescreen.

From elsewhere

• Original (WM5+) t-zones WAP browser for the Dash.
• Original OZ Messenger from T-Mobile ROMs. Uses text messages instead of GPRS.
• SmartToolkit (WM5+) gives a skinnable Vista-like taskbar and a pop-up start menu and task manager. May cause instability in some situations; don't install on the SD card!
• Skins for ~SmartToolkit
• Smartphone Freeware (WM2003+) Good download site for free software for all smartphones. Be sure and check that you're downloading the latest version of what you want, as organization sucks. This is the "dotcom" address. Try using "dot net", "dot org", and "dot mobi" as well.
• Gmail on the Excalibur (Any?) Instructions for "a temporary but working solution to the full screen issue in gmail mobile 2.0".
• The Mobile Stream Center (Any) Nice site for quick streaming radio from stations across the US.
• YouMail.com (Any) allows custom voice mail greetings. You can have a greeting for your boss, one for your insignificant other, etc. NB: Changing the default voice mail number might not "stick" with some carriers. You can set another speed-dial, however. Also, depending on a carrier's regional variations, ~YouMail service might not be satisfactory. If it works in your region, it's amazing. If it doesn't, you'll hate it with a passion.
• Callwave.com Free service provides SMS or email updates with voice mail attachments, custom greetings, desktop real time application with caller ID and voice mail announcements, mobile and traditional websites and best of all mobile call screening, which allows you to hear a callers message before deciding to interrupt and answer.
• Devicescape Automates logging in to ~WiFi hotspots, and easy setup and sharing of your home ~WiFi.
• DASHwire (WM6+) Makes an online backup of your phone's contacts, videos, pics, tones, etc. Especially good for those who don't/can't use ~ActiveSync; however the small app may have trouble with some cooked (unofficial) ROMs.
• tZedge (Any) is arguably THE place to get (or make) ringtones and wallpapers for any phone.
• Alphadial (WM6.1) is a small application that fixes the inability to dial with letters in WM6.1
• Palringo is a nice Instant Messenger supporting most major protocols. Uses GPRS instead of text messages.
• Also one of very few IM programs that work with t-zones $5.99 plan. Registry tweaks from the Kaiser guys are necessary to enable this.
• AE Button Plus (WM2003+) is a button re-mapper that adds great flexibility and control over what keypresses do. Discussion here.

Software Notes

• The Excalibur runs Windows Mobile Standard. This is the version made specifically for smartphones (non-touchscreen phones).
• Windows Mobile is not Windows. It will not run applications made for desktop Windows.
• Although some software developers have versions that work on both smartphones and pocket pc's (touchscreen phones), most ~PocketPC software will not run on a smartphone.
• Keep this in mind when finding software at the above sites to trick out your phone.
• For a phone, the Excalibur is a powerful device; however, check the specs above. Don't expect a phone or its software to do more than it's capable of.
• As an example, a mobile processor at less than 200MHz with a 320x240 screen cannot give you the same quality as a 1080p blu-ray player with a compatible monitor.

Technical

• Information on the S620's Internal Memory HTC_Excalibur_technical
• Another link to the service manual.