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So I bought my first non-WM smartphone. Below is documentation of my quest to replace, and surpass, the experience I was used to with my Touch Diamond 2 running Windows Mobile 6.5. I am what you would probably call a windows mobile 'power user'. I've been averaging about one new WM phone every 6 months since 2005, most of them HTC. But I always keep up on what the other platforms are doing. This is just the first time I've taken the leap, and I quickly became aware of what new doors Android opened for me in just the first few hours of using the Nexus One. The OS is nice, but like most people, it really comes down to the apps for me.
I was initially thinking I'd do a big blog review, but I've run out of motivation. There's plenty of info on the Nexus One hardware and Android out there, so I don't need to rehash that stuff. What I haven't seen a lot of, though, is detailed accounts of people switching and what exactly they found.
There remains a couple major things missing from Android. The lack of an OCS client is probably the biggest one for me professionally, but since it's a Microsoft product, I don't see that changing any time soon. That and the lack of xvid playback will keep me carrying around my TD2 as backup for the foreseeable future. But other than that, I'm extremely happy and will definitely be sticking with the Nexus for a while. The next post will be a comprehensive list of (practically) every app I've installed, what they do for me, and how they compare to their WM counterparts (if there are any).
On to the apps...
Android Apps I've installed and believe I will continue to use.
This is a bit of a brain dump, so I apologize for not editing more thoroughly. Hopefully it will be useful to some, and feel free to suggest other apps you think I should try.
Advanced Task Killer - List of running apps that allows you to easily kill unwanted tasks. Nice to have for an OS that allows background apps, but I don't actually notice it slowing down, it seems to manage memory and close apps as needed.
Aldiko (replacing mobiReader, much better) - eReader with nice UI and quick access to several libraries of free books. Found Doctorow's books right away.
Amazon store - really just easier than using the web browser, but it also does barcode scanning and some other useful stuff.
BeamReader (replacing Adobe's wm reader) - rarely needed, but have to be able to see pdfs on the go sometimes
Beelicious - direct (cached) access to my delicious bookmarks. UI could be better and it's a bit of a pain to wade through them all, but it's useful.
BeyondPod (replacing YomoMedia, HUGE improvement) - It took me years to find a podcast downloader for WM that worked at all, but beyondpod is amazing. The UI is superb and inuitive. The customization is great. I have it setup to download only at night while charging. It remembers my place in podcasts and creates 'smart playlists' to make it easier to start listening. It also integrates with google reader, which is hugely useful because I can add new podcasts I'd like to listen to anywhere from google reader and then import then very quickly into beyondpod later. Also worth noting is the homescreen widget, which gives me access to basic controls and status from my home screen, no need to always navigate back into the app.
Browser (replacing Opera mobile) - Really there's not much difference here. Neither android nor WM have flash or silverlight support yet (although you can sort of get it on WM through skyfire, but that's not performant enough to be an everyday thing). Usability is about the same, but since multitouch zoom isn't enabled on nexus yet (though the hardware can technically support it), you have to use the zoom in/out buttons. This isn't as nice as zooming on the TD2 (zoom bar) or the HD2 (multitouch). Android does links to outside applications better though. It recognizes when you are browsing to a youtube video or RSS feed and will prompt correctly.
Cab4me - Nice little app for finding nearby cab companies making it very easy to see which is rated best, has cars available, and place the call. Not a must-have, but it's one of the little things.
Camera - very fast, 5mp (same as on hd2 and td2 wm phones), the LED flash is certainly better than nothing. Geotagging is default.
Car Home - this is Google's navigation 'car mode'. I think is this very cool, but honestly I won't end up using it much because I have navigation built into my car.
Carr Matey - dedicated app for recording car location so you can find it again. Another little nice thing I didn't have before. Android is just so much better at doing location-aware apps right now.
Documents to Go (replacing ms office mobile) - I'm using the lite version, which does not allow editing, but I have just never had the need to edit office docs on my phone. Sometimes I get one in an email and want to read it though, and this looks to do that fine. I'm happy.
Evernote (replacing Evernote) - I'm using this more and more as a dumping ground for everything that's not in email but I want to remember. This is what I use anytime I want to take a quick note (audio or text), or take a picture of a wine bottle or business card for later reference. It syncs with the cloud immediately and I can search that from anywhere.
Flashlight - not a big deal, but nice to have.
flickr droid (replacing shozu) - i like to have an easy way to upload a picture to flickr, this gives me that. I really like how android allows it to integrate with the normal gallery app. So after I take a picture I just have to view it, select 'share', and then select flickr droid (or other things like email, twitter, etc). It's more centralized than WM.
Flip2Silent and Vibrate During Meeting (replacing WM + HTC ringer management) - The ringer management on android is lacking as compared to WM. I used to be able to have my phone automatically go to vibrate during meetings, and silence the ringer after I pick up the phone (so it doesn't continue to be loud and annoying while I'm deciding whether to answer), AND there was a pocket mode to switch to vibrate and louder ring when the phone detected it was in a pocket. Vibrate During Meeting gives me back the meeting function, but it only works with the google calendar, not the exchange touchdown calendar in which all my actual meetings are stored. My work-around is to sync my exchange calendar with google via desktop outlook, but this doesn't keep it updated unless I have a desktop logged in. The good news is that the developer of this app says he'll look into touchdown. Flip2Silent gives me the option to just lay the phone screen-side-down to mute the ringer/vibrate functions. This will work while a call is coming in and I want to ignore it.
Foursquare - App for checking into various locations. It's treated like a game, you get points, but also get to see where your friends are and if they happen to be near you. Plus people leave tips for places.
g-backup and mybackup (replacing myphone on wm) - MS's myphone app on wm will automatically backup all user data (sms, mms, pictures, video, docs, etc) to the cloud every night. It can also restore these for when you get a new phone or hard-reset your current phone. I got used to having this. All my email and contacts are in exchange or the cloud anyway, but I don't want to lose these other things. MyPhone is also nice because all that data is accessible via the web. g-backup is cool because it will upload all this stuff to gmail, so you have it there, but it can't restore anything. MyBackup will backup and restore most things, but not pictures/video. So I'm using them both, but I'd like a more comprehensive solution.
Gallery (replacing HTC photo gallery) - The nexus gallery is implemented in 3d and is pretty cool, but ultimately it works about as well as the HTC version (which is also flashy). They need to add multi-touch zooming.
GCDroid (replacing gcz) - This is my geocaching app, but only until the official geocaching.com android app comes out (which is soon and it will be cool if their iphone app is any indication). Even though there isn't an official app for wm, the community created apps were pretty good. GCDroid is barely usable, but overall this category will be an upgrade over wm soon.
Glympse (replacing Glympse) - Something I'll rarely use, but it's cool when it applies. You can send a link to anyone that will allow them to track you via a webbrowser for x-minutes. So if you say you're on your way, they can actually see how far along you are.
Gmail (replacing hotmail) - both MS and Google have their email services integrated tightly with their mobile os. I used to forward all my gmail to hotmail so I could easily get it on my phone, so now I just flipped it. I like gmail well enough, and there are certainly features that are ahead of hotmail. I'm just happy to happy to have my personal email pushed to my phone.
Google maps (replacing google maps and bing) - This is definitely better than on WM, but ultimately it does the same stuff. It's smoother and a little easier to navigate (except, again, zooming is more difficult).
Meebo IM - nice to have an app that can log into ICQ, MSN, and GTalk all at once. Likely will rarely use it.
Messaging (replacing txt message HTC app) - this seems to be just what you'd expect. But at least it's very fast and predictable, unlike the HTC app which is sometimes laggy as hell.
Flixter Movies (replacing bing) - MS's bing app was good for finding local theaters and showtimes, this one does it with a bit more flash and some awesome additional features that i just found. It shows the rottentomatoes rating along with every movies. Plus, it has netflix integration, so it checks whether any movie is in my queue and lets me add it while browsing. It also has a list of recent dvd releases, which is great with the netflix thing. It also essentially serves as a mobile imdb. Very impressive.
Mother TED - dedicated app for watching TED talks. It seems ok but not great.
Music (replacing HTC media player) - Nothing special here. I don't know that I'll even use it much since i mostly listen to pandora or podcasts.
OpenTable - for the rare occasions when I make reservations (especially last minute) this will make it easy to find a place with an opening.
Pandora (NOT ON WM) - this is almost a reason to switch by itself. I hate that this isn't on wm yet. Very nicely implemented on android because it has a homescreen widget. I get all the basic controls without even having to go into the app, and I can use other apps while it plays in the background. Sound quality is great too.
Dialer - The android dialer is pretty basic, but it seems to get the job done. At least you can add a pause (with a comma) so that dialing conference numbers is somewhat doable (but still WAY harder than it should be, they don't do any smart parsing in meeting invites). This is still hard on WM though too.
PhoneFlicks (replacing official netflix wm app) - This is barely a replacement. Netflix's own app was better, this one is slower and harder to use, but at least I can do basic queue management from my phone, which is really nice sometimes.
SeattleBusBot - This is SO cool, and something I've wanted but couldn't find on wm. Seattle has the gps info of its buses available publicly, but their website is basically unusable on a phone (even on a desktop). This app will tell you exactly when a given bus is going to arrive, not just when it's scheduled.
Seesmic (replacing m.twitter.com on wm) - really good mobile twitter app. There are plenty of wm twitter apps, and HTC even builds one into the os now, but they tended to be slower. I think the HD2 is probably just as good as seesmic.
ShopSavvy - barcode scanning that tells you the closest places to get the given product and for how much. Haven't had a chance to see if this turns out to actually be useful, but I like the concept and test scans in the house have been accurate (which kinda surprises me because I had heard that phone barcode scanning doesn't work, but maybe the 5mp camera and snapdragon is making it more pratical).
TorrentFu (replacing starting torrents via Live mesh mobile) - This is a major upgrade (and rejected from itunes if I remember correctly). I finally switched to uTorrent on my server so I could use this. It uses the utorrent webui to connect, but exposes all the functionality like a local app. You can see progress, search for and start new torrents, and pause/resume. Very cool.
TripIt (replacing tripcase kinda) - I've only started experimenting with these two services, and i don't travel as much as I used to, but they are pretty good at what they do. Just forward your reservation emails and they build up a comprehensive itinerary and keep you updated. having a native app makes using these that much easier. Tripcase is on wm, tripit (which seems to be the better service) is on android.
tv.com - streaming tv from cbs, showtime, and some others. Haven't used this much, but always nice to have some free content.
Google Voice - At first I was skeptical about this because I don't have a real need to create a central phone number that rings all my phones, which was what i thought this service was for. Turns out you don't have to use that feature, and they also provide visual voicemail on android plus they send you transcriptions of the messages to your phone. so you can see who left messages and what they said (approximately) without even listening. So I'm definitely appreciating this feature.
Wapedia - native version of wikipedia. Nice and quick. why not?
y5 - Battery - This app is genius in its simplicity and value. It simply keeps track of where you are when you enable wifi, and remembers that going forward so it can automatically re-enable it when you come back to the same place. The rest of the time, it disables wifi to save battery. The end result here is that I never have to remember to turn wifi on or off when i come home or leave the house.
youtube (replacing youtube) - works well. nothing special to report except google's browser seems to be better at realizing when it should forward you to the youtube player.
yxflash (failing to replace coreplayer) - The only android app that claims to do xvid/divx decoding. I tried it on an xvid torrent that wm's coreplayer had no trouble with and it choked pretty hard. It played, but with extremely jittery video and slow sound. Not usable yet, but at least i know I might get something soon.
Touchdown (replacing exchange activesync on wm) - Saved the most important (and expensive @$22) for last. Without this app I wouldn't be able to sync my exchange data (contacts, email, calendar, tasks) with my phone because Android doesn't support all the required security features by default. (our company, like many these days, will not sync data with a platform that doesn't allow them to force the use of encryption, pin lock, and remote wipe) Beyond that, without the recently added feature of allowing me to flag emails for followup, I would not be able to switch to android because this workflow is too important to my everyday life.
Explanation: I check email on my phone often, and if I can respond then and there, I do, but if I can’t and need to follow up for any reason, I flag it. This creates a task in outlook which I will see the next time at my desk, so i KNOW i won't forget about it.
But there is an additional, more subtle, benefit at play here. And honestly, it's a little unfair to count it, but it makes such a huge difference in my enjoyment of my phone that I can't ignore it. I'm speaking about how the previously mentioned pin lock for exchange only applies (on android) to the touchdown app. I am not required to set a pin to unlock the phone itself. Ever since they turned on that requirement I've been punching in a 4 digit pin every damn time I wanted to glance at my phone, check the time, or even change the stupid volume! Now I'm finally free of that because google didn't bother to properly build in exchange support at the OS level. NICE! seriously though, this saves me so much annoyance it was almost worth the $530 by itself.
For a true windows power-user, it's worth shelling out the <$10 for Remote RDP. It works incredibly well, even when connecting to my Windows 7 PC from 3G across town (or presumably, the world).
The ability to USE MY HOME PC from ANYWHERE WITH NET ACCESS...
Absolutely incredible for a phone..
EDIT: my home net speed is pretty quick, which owes to fast remote access. Wifi will always be fast, though, and that's what this app is really designed for.
Good recommendation. Just downloaded the Remote RDP demo. Seems to work well.
Thank you for the run down... I just made the switch myself and a number of the apps you mentioned helped me fill some of my void from WM. I'm still a little pissed about the exchange issues but the real truth is any company I work for issues me a blackberry and doesn't allow other devices to connect to thier servers. I worked for one midsized company once that let me and that was the only time I was completely in love with my WM device. Since my personal email is through gmail the nexus one is really amazing as my personal phone.
Good Stuff! I'm in the same boat WM to Android and no turning back I'll check out some of the apps u listed...
One thing I'm looking for is a widget with power/memory/storage/sd gauges.
Always had this on the wm home for reference & cool stats!
If you geocache then GeoBeagle is the other main geocaching app. I don't cache much any more, but I have tried GeoBeagle and liked it, though I can't compare it to GCDroid...
Wanted to say thanks for the excellent app list. Touchdown is awesome. A way for me to connect to work without merging my exchange contacts with the rest of my phone. Now thats a win!
@Seraph321 - want to add my thanks for your app info. i'll be getting an N1 soon and knowing there are options to some of my "must haves" apps/features/functionality (e.g., Exchange) will help shorten my learning curve. i'm not going to abandon WM because it will continue to serve as my work phone. the N1 will be my after work/personal phone until i'm comfortable tweaking Android. that's my plan, but once i have the N1 my plan may change!
Great write up, and welcome to Android
A few suggestions
Text Messaging
The two heavyweights are Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS. Both are considerably better than the default SMS app, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
Browser
Dolphin Browser is hands down the best browser on Android right now. Multi-touch zooming, delicious integration, tabs, themes, and much more.
Flashlight
Do a market search for Nexus One Torch. It utilizes the LED from the camera flash to use as a flashlight. Very bright.
Ringer Management
Locale manages your phone based off time and location. Never used it myself, but heard good things, and I believe it was and Android Developers Challenge winner or something.
Backup
I'm simple and only need to backup text messages (most everything else is stored via SD card or synced with Google anyway). I use SMS Backup to backup my texts to Gmail, and it works fantastic. Uploads directly to my mail account, archives the texts, puts them in threads according to contact, tags them, and marks them as read. I can then easily search my text conversations from my phone or desktop browser via Gmail, and don't have to worry about deleting conversations from my phone and losing something. I've never used g-backup, so it may have this function already.
Twitter
I've tried a couple Twitter apps (not Seismic, though I'll be trying that next) and have landed on Swift, which currently is the fastest, and the best looking Twitter app I've used. I'm not a giant twitter user, so I don't know if it supports all the features any other apps might, but it works great for me, and would recommend it.
That's all for now. I don't have my phone next to me or I'd give it a quick run through and suggest something you might be missing, but I'll have to do that another time.
As for getting multi-touch support in google maps, the browser, and gallery... just wait, it's been hacked in for the G1/MT3G, it will certainly be hacked in for the Nexus One.
I'm still up in the air between ASTRO File Manager and Linda File Manager, but a file manager is an important addition to your tools, if you plan on keeping a lot of documents/files on board. Additionally, I know at least Linda has the DownloadCrutch functionality, associating itself with every filetype so that the browser will allow you to download such. To me, this last bit is essential.
Great stuff, I think a lot of people will be going from WM to Nexus because MS have failed to deliver for so long & there is now a great alternative with an OS that can be modded and a really cool handset.
So far I am happy to leave the N1 standard (not rooted) and play with apps - it is a real joy to have so many available & a single source for them.
Never going back !
+1 for Dolphin Browser... definitely a big step up over the default browser IMHO
SpyderMS said:
Great write up, and welcome to Android
A few suggestions
Text Messaging
The two heavyweights are Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS. Both are considerably better than the default SMS app, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
bofslime said:
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tend to agree though why doesnt the icon to the app on my home screen tell me how many unread SMS there are?
The Jones said:
I tend to agree though why doesnt the icon to the app on my home screen tell me how many unread SMS there are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SMS Count
ok, at work with nothing to do, so I browsed through my phone, and here's a couple Apps you may be interested in. Some of these are useful, some are just kind of cool
AudioManager Widget
Nice little app that lets you adjust all your volume levels easily and quickly.
AppControl - Full Version
Best app manager I've used. Really fast, nice interface, and lots of options.
Barcode Scanner
Barcode scanning from the phone is fantastic. It's very pronounced in the Android community as well. You'll see barcodes not only on these forums, but on App websites like AndroLib.com, which let you scan the barcode, and instantly be linked to a website or Android Market page. It's not only useful on the Nexus One's 5mp camera and 1GHz processor either. Worked great on my G1.
Google Goggles
Take a picture of just about anything, and Google will search for relevant results.
Google Sky Map
Virtual Planetarium on your phone.
Layar Reality Browser 3.0
Augmented Reality browser. Displays information about objects in front of you overlayed on the camera display.
Pkt Auctions for eBay
If you use eBay at all, this is a great companion tool.
Shazam
Lets you identify music being played around you by letting your phone listen to and analyze it.
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
handcent settings -> conversation style.
handcent has a ton of settings options, including different settings for individual contacts (conversation style, font, notification tone, etc)
Thanks for all the suggestions. I've already spent too much work time today finding and installing the ones I like.
I don't actually do THAT much texting, so I'm sticking with the stock sms app for now, but I did install sms popup and set my girlfriend to popup. That's convenient.
Someone mentioned SMS backup, and yes, g-backup does the same thing only for more data, but they both need a scheduling option.
I see the nexus one torch app requires rooted access. I'm no stranger to hacking my gadgets, but this app (plus tethering, and maybe installing to the sd card) are the only things I've seen so far that have me interested in doing it. Can anyone provide some examples of why they consider rooting a must?
You mentioned Wi-Fi tethering already, but that reason alone is a pretty big reason. You may also want to theme your phone. Any kind of advancements that developers like Cyanogen come out with will require root as well. Cyanogen is known for pushing the envelope, helping to increase speed, and overall functionality of the G1, and other devices; not to mention you will get features from new versions of Android faster than those without root. I'm sure there are other reasons to, these are just off the top of my head. A lot of people are waiting until someone finds out how to reverse the bootloader unlocking process before they root, in order to preserve their warranty, and that's certainly a good idea if you don't have a lot of use for root at the moment. I did it, like most people that did, just because I can.
I'll make sure to watch the Cyanogen stuff closely. I never followed the G1 enhancements, so I guess I don't know what to expect. Sounds like it's likely I'll do it at some point though.
Is it easy to get all your apps, especially the ones that you paid for, back on your phone after rooting? Does the marketplace just remember it all and let you re-download?
I should just search for these answers.
Hi everyone,
I am currently a Windows Mobile user, Xperia X1a, and am looking to switch to an Android device sometime soon. Since the Nexus One is on Android 2.1, I figured this would be a good place to ask a few quick questions, if any kind user could help
1) Button mapping -> On Windows Mobile it is possible to map different applications/actions to a button, as well as a different action based on a short click or a long tap/hold. Is there something similar in android? I had trouble finding it in the base 2.1 build in the Android SDK emulator
2) Calendars -> I believe that Android support multiple Calendars on device, unlike Windows Mobile, is this true? Or is it multiple calendars synced to the main Google Calendar in the crowd? (My main issue is I want to sync my work and home calendars as 2 different calendars on the phone, something I have never successfully done through Windows Mobile)
3) Any alternatives to System Seven for syncing OWA email and calendar to the device? System seven only supports email right now
4) Any native app for Google Reader? I currently use SpeeedReader on WM which is not amazing, but gets the job done.... somewhat. Based on all my research even Android has to use the browser to access Google Reader.
5) DivX / Coreplayer/ any real video codec support? WM has Coreplayer, but most devices are too slow/crippled to take advantage of it. Nexus One and others have Snapdragon processor which is better than the current devices.
6) bluetooth handsfree - This appears to be a major problem according to forums and Google Bug tracker. A friend who has got into the vlingo beta for android confirmed that clicking on the "speak now" button enabled him to use the phone completely handsfree. Related to question 1, is there a way to change the bluetooth button to access vlingo app instead of the native app?
7) For a current Windows Mobile dude, who thought he knew most tweaks in WM. Just how hard is the learning curve for Android? (I know its the noobest question of all, but I would like some reassurance /stories to help transition over, I spent 5 years on WM devices )
Thank you so much for your time.
I was in the same situation as you: I've been on winmo for more than 7 yrs and I was dreading the shift. I got my N1 and kept my winmo device at hand and fully functional...only to discover 24hrs later that I totally forgot about it!
Basically, all you can do on winmo, you can do on Android, although sometimes in a slightly different manner and of course a different interface.
Major pros after 3 months of use: besides the hardware (amazing speed), very smooth UI, no need for soft-resets (on WM it was a daily burden), friendly community, rapidly developing apps...
Go for it
I've come from 5 ish years on Windows mobile to Android too, I'll try answer the questions from what I know.
1. Button Mapping -> It's possible to create shortcuts to applications on the phone's "desktop". It's also possible using the "Anycut" app to create specific actions (not used this myself so not sure of details). What I did love was you can create a shortcut to direct dial or direct text someone on your contacts list. Overall I found this much much easier and quicker on Android compared to WinMo.
2. I've only used Google Calendar and, yes, you can sync multiple calendars as they are setup on your desktop Google Calendar. I've found implementation of this is to be really good. If you're currently using Outlook it's possible to sync that to the browser Google Calendar and then to your mobile.
3. Everything works best and smoothest when linked with Gmail and Google Calendar. Afraid I don't know much more about OWA email, hopefully someone else will be along shortly to help on that score.
4. I've only used Google Reader from within the browser, but it's still slick and fast.
5. Don't think there's support for playing DivX yet. I believe Core Player are working on it but it could be some time.
6. Sorry, don't use Bluetooth headsets so can't advise. I think it is possible but sometimes fiddly depending on the headset.
7. For me the learning curve was extremely easy. I never found myself getting frustrated even right from the beginning, the UI to me seems very intuitive. In fact I'd say I was more frustrated with WinMo after 5 years than I was with Android after 5 minutes in terms of trying to figure out what I wanted to do.
Go for it, I think it's so refreshing going from WinMo to Android. Maybe less so going from the iPhone UI to Android because they are in some ways similar but in other ways quite different and you can get confused about which way to do things after being so used to the Apple way.
6. I use 2 different Bluetooth headsets and never had any problem.
The guys above did a pretty good job describing things. This is what i can contribute
1) Yes there is a long press and it allows you to create shortcuts and many other things to the home screens (in general it kind of works like a right click opening menus in many programs). There isn't really button mapping because there aren't buttons, everything is very intuitive.
4) for google reader there are several applications that link up to your subscriptions and will download them to your computer. I personally use newsrob for articles and google listen for podcasts. Both work well and sync with google reader nicely.
6) The only thing i've used bluetooth for was pairing it with the dock and streaming audio. I've never had a problem with that. But I guess that's not all that surprising since the dock was made solely to work with this phone.
Thanks Guys. I think that nearly all the items I asked about without getting a phone myself have been answered.
I suppose it will take months for me to build the kind of knowledge base/app library that I had with Windows Mobile, but keeping in tune with RSS feeds from various sites, I think I have found a tweak/app for nearly everything on Windows Mobile. Max a 1 time conversion is needed for the Call Log/eBooks/ SMS initial backup-synch. Looking forward to a snapdragon device that does NOT take 20 seconds to move from one screen to the next.
I don't suppose there are any other solutions out there for Outlook Web Access email/Calendar syncing, huh?
Thanks again!
Hi,
I hope I am adhereing to Forum 'etiquette' here.
I've taken ownership of an X10 on Monday, after having experience of the iPhone. First impressions are 'I hate it' in capital letters... I just can't get used to it and have a number of annoyances.
I'm hoping this is a case of user error as some of this forum users seem to think it walks on water, so apologies for this, but a few questions
1) Is there a recommended set up? It is currently configured as it was out of the box
2) Android App Store - I don't want to register for a google email account that I'll never use, do I have to? Can I not access a full app store online via the web?
3) I find the bundled Sat Nav useless... It can't ever find my current location.
4) I really miss the 'notification' of the iPhone, the little red number when you've got a text, facebook update, missed call etc. Timescape does not replace this as it constantly updates and my phone is always on silent 8-6 every day so I'm missing calls, messages and notifications.
5) Recommended apps?
6) Battery Life... I've hardly used the thing today, yet its used nearly 75% of the battery life and I've made 2 calls, a little bit of Facebook and 4 text messages.
7) Any general recommendations?
At this moment, I really am close to sending this back (7 day trial) and getting a HTC Desire or going back to the iPhone.
Thanks in advance
Stuart
1) Is there a recommended set up? It is currently configured as it was out of the box
Unlike the iPhone, Android allows you to configure and personalize your phone as you like, what recommended setup are you looking for ? I have disabled Timescape and use handcent/K-9 for SMS/Email, though I still find Mediascape the best media player.
2) Android App Store - I don't want to register for a google email account that I'll never use, do I have to? Can I not access a full app store online via the web?
To use Googles Android market you do need a Google ID. I have never used mine to send email and it is only used for the Google applications I have downloaded. I only ever registered an Apple ID to be ableto download apps from the Itunes App store.
3) I find the bundled Sat Nav useless... It can't ever find my current location.
Have you got the GPS switched on ? My X10 locks onto GPS faster than my iPhone ever did. Download Google Maps.
4) I really miss the 'notification' of the iPhone, the little red number when you've got a text, facebook update, missed call etc. Timescape does not replace this as it constantly updates and my phone is always on silent 8-6 every day so I'm missing calls, messages and notifications.
These appear in the 'notification' drag down at the top of the screen. I prefer them to the iPhone as they stay there until I decide to clear them.
5) Recommended apps?
See other thread for this.
6) Battery Life... I've hardly used the thing today, yet its used nearly 75% of the battery life and I've made 2 calls, a little bit of Facebook and 4 text messages.
Wait a week or so, battery does improve and should improve further after the next firmware update in the next week or so. The X10 has a much more powerful processor than the iPhone so does use more battery, but having used the phone for a month I actually find that the battery lasts longer than the iPhone, although it does take longer to top-up and recharge.
7) Any general recommendations?
Use it, play with it, get used to it. Android is so different to the iPhone that it does take some getting used to. I personally love Android as it allows me to customize and personalize my phone far beyond what the iPhone allowed me to do.
At this moment, I really am close to sending this back (7 day trial) and getting a HTC Desire or going back to the iPhone.
The majority of the issues you raise above, you would also find on the HTC Desire.
Thanks for the reply, I just wondered whether there was a standard set up that most users used, seems not.
One final question;
There are far too many apps that I'll never use that I don't seem to be able to uninstall... E.g. I've got the Mail app, Google Mail and Moxier Mail... I'm only ever going to want one of these.
I haven't a clue what the Moxier things do full stop mind you, and I don't want GoogleTalk for example.
Is there a way to un-install or hide the ones I don't want?
And can I re-arrange apps, e.g. bring my Facebook onto the 4 icons you have on the homepage.
Sorry if this all sounds picky, I just want the customisation I'm used too.
"Is there a way to un-install or hide the ones I don't want?"
Not yet. We need to be able to root the device. (Like jailbreak on Iphone)
"And can I re-arrange apps, e.g. bring my Facebook onto the 4 icons you have on the homepage."
Press and hold on whatever icon you want to move.
StuartBrookes said:
Thanks for the reply, I just wondered whether there was a standard set up that most users used, seems not.
One final question;
There are far too many apps that I'll never use that I don't seem to be able to uninstall... E.g. I've got the Mail app, Google Mail and Moxier Mail... I'm only ever going to want one of these.
I haven't a clue what the Moxier things do full stop mind you, and I don't want GoogleTalk for example.
Is there a way to un-install or hide the ones I don't want?
And can I re-arrange apps, e.g. bring my Facebook onto the 4 icons you have on the homepage.
Sorry if this all sounds picky, I just want the customisation I'm used too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many of the pre-installed apps are not possibile to un-install. But if you load other mail apps then it will ask you which is the default mail app you want to use. The apps themselves take up such a small amount of space that you don't need to worry too much if you don't want to use them. Moxier etc are primarily used to access work/exchange email. There are many on here who are desperate to delete them but I have no real problem with them.
To add apps to your homescreen, just select he app in your app menu, hold onto it and drag it upto your homescreen. With default Android you have three homescreens to organise and you can add app shortcuts to any of these. From any homescreen, press and hold in an empty space and it will then ask which shortcut/app or widget you need to place there.
My own Android app whinge is that I cannot reorganize the apps in my app page, they are always displayed in the alphabetical order of whatever the developer has decided to name them.
Once we have root (jailbreak for android phones), we should be able to get rid of most of the unwanted apps that came pre-installed.
If those are the annoyances you are talking about, then the Desire won't fix anything because almost all of those "problems" are with android itself.
Battery life isn't much better on the Desire and the GPS is insanely quick to get a lock on almost everyone else's handsets.
I also wasn't aware that the iPhone was customizable...
Use Navigon for GPS navigation. Its by far the best for Android, similar to iGo & Tom Tom. Its also free if you know where to look! ;-)
Also make sure you turn GPS on and off when its used from the settings menu as it can drain battery. A-GPS also helps lock on as it uses the internet to track satalites positions for start up.
So im finally there, i have to switch to Android. I was using a windows mobile device before, so i probably expect a lot of functionality wich Android might not offer. But there are a lot of questions left i hope some of you can answer me:
General usage:
- is it possible to remove that "slide to unlock" thingy, i dont see its use, the phone has one button to toggle it that wont get pushed in my pocket
- battery symbol, i see a lot of people having an additional battery symbol with the exact percentage of the remaining power, i think thats bull****, i dont need 2 battery symbols, just one thats working the right way, is it hard to change the battery symbol in the noticication bar?
- can i bind the hardware keys, for example long press of a button starts the recording for voice control, short press opens a taskmanager
- is the copy and paste working 100% and is avaiable in all programs?
- can i have the device in USB mass storage as standard setting (not asking everytime i connect it)?
- can i have a shortcut that would check all my registred mail accounts when i click it (no automatic checking, i decide when the device connects to the internet)?
- can i create shortcuts to html, doc or excel files?
- can i use java programs in android?
- is there a program that would display a symbol for calls, sms and emails that would change their apperance when i have a missed call, new message or mail?
- is it possible to active bluethooth or wlan by shortcut or voice command?
- are there USB host drivers so i could connect USB mass storage devices?
Applications needed:
- i would like a simple task and program manager, to switch between them and close them if i want to, i thing it would be best suited in the drop down bar (since its there..why not use it)?
- SMS, call time and data counter for incoming and outgoing, is there something like that? I suppose i could put it as widget on one of the homescreens
- backup software for settings, SMS messages, emails and installed programs and their settings, is there something like that, are there backup programs that work after updating to a newer Android version?
- my device will have a Snapdragon CPU, what about a CPU speed manger that underclocks when in standby and has profiles for programs so i could run it at half speed in general but for some specific programs get the full CPU power?
- TMC data for navigation: i think there is no such thing yet, right?
- a decent file explorer with all features expected from a good explorer (it should be able to create shortcuts for html, word or any other file that the phones software can handle)
- a program that insertes local holidays into my calender, with support for birthdays wich are not in my contacts
- a good serious photoeditor: with serious i mean i dont need any effects bull**** wich comes with most camera applications, i need the ability to open large files, crop them, maybe even display tifs with layers, something like a pocket version of Photoshop
- videoplayer is there something like VLC is for windows PCs and CorePlayer is for windowsmobile? A player thats is capable of playing everything
applications i allready found and will probably use:
- as office solution i suppose i can use the programs from Softmaker, dont know if there are android drivers for my BT Freedom Keyboard
- multimessenger with MSN, ICQ, Jabber, Facebook: maybe palringo, at least it was good on windows mobile
- navigation: i think there is TomTom and Igo
- calendar that can display a whole month with visible icons for appointments: should work with pocket informant, because it does on windows
Dumb questions?
General usage:
- is it possible to remove that "slide to unlock" thingy, i dont see its use, the phone has one button to toggle it that wont get pushed in my pocket
I believe this is only possible if you have root
- battery symbol, i see a lot of people having an additional battery symbol with the exact percentage of the remaining power, i think thats bull****, i dont need 2 battery symbols, just one thats working the right way, is it hard to change the battery symbol in the noticication bar?
again, I believe you need root
- can i bind the hardware keys, for example long press of a button starts the recording for voice control, short press opens a taskmanager
pretty sure you can do things like this with root
- is the copy and paste working 100% and is avaiable in all programs?
it's always seemed fine to me.. just try it out for yourself.
- can i have the device in USB mass storage as standard setting (not asking everytime i connect it)?
I don't know of any way to do this.
- can i have a shortcut that would check all my registred mail accounts when i click it (no automatic checking, i decide when the device connects to the internet)?
go to settings-> accounts & sync. then click on the account and disable "sync gmail". Then, when you open up gmail, you can manually refresh.
- can i create shortcuts to html, doc or excel files?
I don't think so.
- can i use java programs in android?
I believe htc sense phones can but it is not included in AOSP
- is there a program that would display a symbol for calls, sms and emails that would change their apperance when i have a missed call, new message or mail?
there's lots on the market. Personally, I use launcher pro (homescreen replacement) that includes this by default. I highly recommend it.
- is it possible to active bluethooth or wlan by shortcut or voice command?
have you tried the power control widget?
- are there USB host drivers so i could connect USB mass storage devices?
It's certainly possible but it might require a custom kernel or something. I'm not sure. It depends on your hardware as well though. Many/most android phones cannot output power through their usb port, which makes this impossible. USB drives need power.
Applications needed:
- i would like a simple task and program manager, to switch between them and close them if i want to, i thing it would be best suited in the drop down bar (since its there..why not use it)?
task managers really shouldn't be necessary. android can handle it just fine itself. I do have one just in case. I like "Advanced Task Manager". As for switching between apps, just long press the home button. if it's not there, just open it from the app drawer again.
- SMS, call time and data counter for incoming and outgoing, is there something like that? I suppose i could put it as widget on one of the homescreens
phonalyzer does what you're asking for, I think.
- backup software for settings, SMS messages, emails and installed programs and their settings, is there something like that, are there backup programs that work after updating to a newer Android version?
I really like mybackup pro. However, it's impossible to backup app settings without root access. You can backup apps but not their data (progress in games for example).
- my device will have a Snapdragon CPU, what about a CPU speed manger that underclocks when in standby and has profiles for programs so i could run it at half speed in general but for some specific programs get the full CPU power?
setcpu is great. requires root.
- TMC data for navigation: i think there is no such thing yet, right?
no idea. google navigation has traffic updates of some sort.
- a decent file explorer with all features expected from a good explorer (it should be able to create shortcuts for html, word or any other file that the phones software can handle)
I use astro file manager. I don't think it can create shortcuts though. I have no idea why you would ever want this..
- a program that insertes local holidays into my calender, with support for birthdays wich are not in my contacts
google calendar can do this by default. I have no idea what you're talking about with birthdays though. Just add them to your calendar...
- a good serious photoeditor: with serious i mean i dont need any effects bull**** wich comes with most camera applications, i need the ability to open large files, crop them, maybe even display tifs with layers, something like a pocket version of Photoshop
never had an urge to do this. "Adobe Photoshop Express" might be a good place to start though.
- videoplayer is there something like VLC is for windows PCs and CorePlayer is for windowsmobile? A player thats is capable of playing everything
I don't really watch videos on my phone so I don't know.
applications i allready found and will probably use:
- as office solution i suppose i can use the programs from Softmaker, dont know if there are android drivers for my BT Freedom Keyboard
never even heard of softmaker. documents to go is supposed to be good
- multimessenger with MSN, ICQ, Jabber, Facebook: maybe palringo, at least it was good on windows mobile
I like meebo, personally.
- navigation: i think there is TomTom and Igo
I don't know why you would pay for these when you can just use google navigation for free..
- calendar that can display a whole month with visible icons for appointments: should work with pocket informant, because it does on windows
what's wrong with google calendar?
smaskell said:
General usage:
I believe this is only possible if you have root
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont care what it takes as long as its possible.
smaskell said:
- can i have the device in USB mass storage as standard setting (not asking everytime i connect it)?
I don't know of any way to do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it seriously asking everytime?
smaskell said:
- can i have a shortcut that would check all my registred mail accounts when i click it (no automatic checking, i decide when the device connects to the internet)?
go to settings-> accounts & sync. then click on the account and disable "sync gmail". Then, when you open up gmail, you can manually refresh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only gmail? I would like to check severy pop3 accounts.
Didnt know there is a taskswitcher included, alawys thought id had to go the long way via homescreen.
I will check phonalyzer out thanks.
Will also check out mybackup, even though apps come from the market and a re probably newer version than in the backup, saving settings would seem more logical.
SetCPU, thanks again.
smaskell said:
- a decent file explorer with all features expected from a good explorer (it should be able to create shortcuts for html, word or any other file that the phones software can handle)
I use astro file manager. I don't think it can create shortcuts though. I have no idea why you would ever want this..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because there are some excel and word files i often use and of course in want them fast. So shortcuts on Homescreen or where the other applications are. Speaking of that list. Is there some way to organzize it? Change the order, put some in subfolder? The way they are now it sucks.
For the birthdays i need to remember some birthdays of people that dont have phone, mail or anything. So creating a contact would be pointless. But i want to see their birthday everyyear with the info how old they get.
Will look at Adobe Photoshop Express.
smaskell said:
- TMC data for navigation: i think there is no such thing yet, right?
no idea. google navigation has traffic updates of some sort.
- navigation: i think there is TomTom and Igo
I don't know why you would pay for these when you can just use google navigation for free..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because online navigation sucks if i am out of my country and have to really pay for datatranfers.
smaskell said:
- calendar that can display a whole month with visible icons for appointments: should work with pocket informant, because it does on windows
what's wrong with google calendar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It just doenst show me what i want to see.
As far as i understand google voice command (even if it would understand anything else than english allready) decodes the spoken commands online. So when i tell it to open my excel file i would first have to wait till my phone connects to the internet. Is there any voice command software that works on the device and not in the cloud. Like voice command for windows mobile did?
i recommend the app Trapster.
I switched from WM to android not that long ago, so I kanda know where you're coming from. You do have to unmount your storage from your phone every time you want to transfer things, I usually just send things over the air and avoid plugging in. WM loved to be attached to your computer, but android would rather be connected to the internet. I think if you're running sense you can transfer stuff with HTCsync without unmounting every time, not 100% though as I flashed sense onto my N1 a couple times but never downloaded HTCsync.
I think you'll want a rom with sense on it. Sense has the 'sync all' button that you can put on your home screen to sync all of your accounts on demand. They also have a partnership with TomTom for offline navigation. There's also a nice calendar widget, and unread counts for your messages, etc. If you were using touch flo on WM, HTC have kept a lot of the nice features in sense on android.
Android isn't as friendly for key mapping as WM was. You can get onscreen toggles for most things, though. there was one rom I had on my N1 for a while, I think it was CM6, where there were toggles on the drop down menu. This made it possible to switch settings in-app, which I missed from WM. For app-switching, just long-press home to bring up your MRU list. One of the other things I miss from WM is having the battery bar that runs all the way across the top of the screen, just on the top few pixels. Only 1 rom I tried, the MIUI rom, was able to do this. It was a lot easier to mess with in WM.
Programs:
file manager - Astro
IM - IM+, nimbuzz, fring, etc. there are lots of them. im+ does skype
backup - I used SMS backup&restore for SMS, Titanium takes care of everything else.
Calendar - google calendar lets you set a repeating event for birthdays, automatically adds the holidays you tell it to.
Also, USB host is possible, but you need to use a powered USB hub to power the device you're plugging in. Doesn't seem to be another way to get power to the port. If USB host is really important, a hacked kernel and a powered port should get the job done.
I hope this helps, and don't worry. Once you've used android for a while, you'll see that it's really user-friendly. I'm sure you'll grow to love it.
Try Jorte calendar if your don't like the Goggle one.
If you get a phone that's rootable, try Root Explorer for file explorer.
________________________________
http://ron-droid.blogspot.com
Jorte isnt bad for displaying texts each day in monthview, but symbols would be better.
Never cared much for Sense, to much graphics to little information.
IM+ sounds good, all in one +Skype would be great.
What me really bothers is that USB thingy, cant it unmount in backgroud without bothering me, even winmobile was able to do that.
Another question: Would trying out a lot of apps polute my OS like it happens with windows (leftover files and registry settings after uninstalling). Or ist Anrdois perfect in this matter.
If not i guess i would have to test a lot of apps till i find the ones i like, then hard rest and make a clean install, or wont this be nessesary in Android?
From what I can tell, if you uninstall an app, everything is cleaned up with the exception of maybe a folder on your sdcsrd. And this generally only happens if the app has an optional setting that allows you to specify that the sdcard be used for backups or downloads, etc.
________________________________
http://ron-droid.blogspot.com
rigman said:
From what I can tell, if you uninstall an app, everything is cleaned up with the exception of maybe a folder on your sdcsrd. And this generally only happens if the app has an optional setting that allows you to specify that the sdcard be used for backups or downloads, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much true.
the sd card thing is really frustrating. sometimes apps add stuff to seemingly random folders on your sd card so you don't know if you can delete it or not. Apps should be forced to only create folders with the same name as the app. Also, I think you should be able to implement an "onUninstall" method or something in your app, with which you could delete all of the files that you created.
Not everyone has data...
smaskell said:
- navigation: i think there is TomTom and Igo
I don't know why you would pay for these when you can just use google navigation for free..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thread dedicated to the initial challenges when changing from a Tilt 2 to an LG Quantum.
Why is this thread needed?
AT&T insurance for the Tilt 2 is now sending the LG Quantum as a replacement.
The phones are hardly comparable. Windows Phone 7 is vastly different than Windows Mobile 6.5. It is not HTC. Does not have Sense.
Windows Phone 7 has some very annoying characteristics that can be avoided if you set things up with specific care and knowledge originally.
I just got me replacement phone today. I will continue to update this thread with information as I find it. Hopefully it will help others in the process, since there will be more of us as insurance replaces people's phones.
Tips from day 1 of use
#1. Your intial live account can not be changed without a hard reset. Do not use an old hotmail account as you Windows Live ID. Create a new one. I recommend one that you will only use for this purpose. If you need to change it, you must wipe your phone (hard reset) to replace this. Your primary hotmail account cannot be removed and there is no way to not sync the contacts from it.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2430020
I recommend telling no one this id. Do not use the email for anything. Include some number or something, so it will not be guessed. do not store information in this account, such as emails or contacts, if it can be avoided. Plenty of other options like gmail for this purpose.
#2. Common email domains are easy to setup. Even custom ones are. But it first will try, then let's you configure.
#3. There is a list that has settings. Swipe from right to left to get to the list. Then go to settings. Now you can change things how old of emails to get and how much of it.
#4. Open an email with an attached pdf. Get the viewer. better to do this earlier than later when you need it. By default, the phone has no ability to view a pdf. The pdf viewer lets you do this.
#5. Stop looking for tasks, you won't find them. They don't sync with Exchange.
#6. There is not a built in twitter app. I am downloading moTweets, because I liked that before. I am using the Try option. There is also a free Twitter and a free Foursquare.
Looks like there is some map software. Not sure if it costs money yet.
Not finding Bing or Google Maps.
Bing is built in. just press the button in the lower right. Not sure why that is the only way to launch it though.
#7. Installed Zune with no issues on Windows Home 64 bit. It updates the software on the phone. You do not loose settings during this. Not like a ROM flash. Synced Videos, pictures, and music.
#8 Blue tooth paired easily. Remember most devices are 0000 for the pin.
#9 Found my WiFi and I connected it fine.
#10 Uninstall the bloat that AT&T puts on. It's not much, but you don't want apps that cost a monthly fee when free ones exist.
First impressions after 1 day
Allthough the look and feel is not customizable, it is very consistent.
A few things are not 100% obvious, but once learned is not difficult.
Things do just work.
Very fluid display. Nothing lags.
It's easy to get your stuff onto it. I need to still test copy and paste with Office.
I was thinking that I would be totally unhappy with the phone. But, I think it might just be doable. A non technical person should have no trouble with this phone.
Marketplace has alot of free apps.
Day 2
Not all clock alarm apps are equal.
Big Clock, which I downloaded from the marketplace failed to wake me this morning.
Tested the normal Alarms this morning and it did work with the screen locked.
As always test your alarm before you need it.
Annoyed that there are no snooze options. Just 5 minutes.
Glad Mango is coming soon. Mango gives all the snooze options we used to have.
Back in Windows Mobile 6.5 Digital Outcast gave us the snooze options that we were used to. M$ had taken them away.
For Win Phone 7, I haven't found a short term solution to this yet. Going to have to wait for Mango.
Liking the OS more and more. Marketplace makes the downloading and installing of apps very painless. Wish it was more clear about what has live tiles though.
AccuWeather weather app appears to be live. LG Clock and Weather does not appear to have a live tile, but lets you put in multiple cities.
Wish I could find the HTC tile with weather and clock. HTC Hub is not it.
Post #5
Intended to later have more info.
I like to have 5 posts of each thread I create.
As a potential future WP7 Device owner, I can't think of a better thread to follw than this one, so on behalf of myself and other TP2/Tilt2 owners who may one day move on, thank you very much for creating this thread...a lot of people move on from a deice earlier than the majority but don't leave the majority much of anything to work with in regards to what to move on to or to stay away from, or how to dial in the new device a better way than what the manufacturers have configured, so this thread is indeed very much appreciated...at least by me, and I am sure others as well.
While you will be missed in the Energy thread, I'm glad I have someone familiar to work with the new OS so should the time come, I will be versed as well as can be on what to expect, and do or not do...thank you for all you did for us with the Rhodium, and thank you in advance for all you will do for the WP7 community...you better the community here wherever you go or whichever thread you are posting in ....
Now for my first WP7 noob question...can the live tiles color be changed...and are there alternatives on this device to the live tiles?
GT247 said:
... Now for my first WP7 noob question...can the live tiles color be changed...and are there alternatives on this device to the live tiles?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. They can be changed, but you get to change them all from 1 color to another.
slide the panels to the left. This now shows a list. Slide down to settings.
In the section titled Theme, tap it and pick a different color.
Other tiles, like music and video, and pictures get the image from what you have played or viewed.
The Me tile gets it's image from Facebook.
And apps can choose to follow the theme or provide their own image.
For the pictures tile, you can manually set it, by: "Open the Picture hub and tap and hold on an empty space and you'll get the option to select the picture you want." source of quote
End of day 2
Realizing that I do not dislike the phone or Windows Phone 7. This is very hard to admit.
With Windows Mobile 6.5 and 6.5.3 and Sense 2.5 with Cookie 2.0. It was fun figuring out all the ways to make the phone do what it should just do. With Windows phone 7. It just does them the way it is supposed to do it. It might not do it how you are used to it doing it, but it does it and it does it well. It can't do everything you're used to it doing, but it does what you actually need it to do and want it to do.
I was expecting to be extremely disappointed in the phone. But I'm not. Things work. You rotate to landscape. They still work. Energy Roms are much prettierand NRGZ28 did a fantastic job at making it do what it should do.
But Windows Phone 7 does a great job.
The things it falls short on will soon be corrected with Mango.
And no M$ did not pay me anything for this post. I am totally surprised that I would feel this way after just 2 days.
I suspected this would be the case....when everything runs faster and smoother and better without having to tweak it to do so, and the initial worry of not being able to tweak to your hearts content to make something you want to work work...when that worry wears off because you dont have to tweak it...well...when any worry wears off and you realize the new phone with the new OS actually really does improve a lot of things.. when everything opens up as your finger is leaving the screen and just starts doing what it's supposed to do...really...how can that be beat?
I'm glad you're giving us positive feedback, as I knew everything would run butter smooth, like yourself, I had reservations about liking the new platform and the new appearance and other changes you're going through with the new device could be overcome by functionality (lol)....
Yep....Mango should come out and lock you in my friend...I imagine after that you'll be glad that usb port died (just please, if you do end up happy about it, don't tell me so...cuz I'm bummed it happened still lol)
I'm curious as you explore...if there will be little things wp7 doesn't have, that the old winmo did...as I have two android devices and the tilt2, I'm finding some things lacking in "the other OS"...little settings (that are sort of kinda actually big deals, to me) are missing...one is...on the tilt2 I can select to show my caller ID to everyone, noone, or just to contacts...can you do that on the Quantum? Have you noticed a need to wonder how ram is controlled? Have you tried opening a zip?.....I'm happy you're on wp7 now (kinda)....I will want to buy a wp7 if someone I trust tells me theye tested it out, put it through it's paces and that it's a solid performer that's user friendly that I can count on to keep me connected to my customers and employees calls and messages and navigates me through my day and gives me awesome browsing and streaming media over the net between my appointments...yep...I'm paying attention to your thread my friend...my usb could go any day too....lol
Thought I found something that I could not do
Thought I could not accept an appointment from Outlook.
In the email, there is a link that takes you to your calender. You accept it from the tentative meeting. I like this better, because you can actually see what your day looks like when accepting it.
Have not found a free twitter program with a live tile.
For weather, the only free one with a live tile update seems to be The Weather Channel. Weather bug does not show anything on the tile. AccuWeather is not updated live.
As plain as the tiles look, they are clear too read. And everything scrolls so fast and smooth. I'll take plain with function for that responsiveness any day.
GT247 said:
I suspected this would be the case....when everything runs faster and smoother and better without having to tweak it to do so, and the initial worry of not being able to tweak to your hearts content to make something you want to work work...when that worry wears off because you dont have to tweak it...well...when any worry wears off and you realize the new phone with the new OS actually really does improve a lot of things.. when everything opens up as your finger is leaving the screen and just starts doing what it's supposed to do...really...how can that be beat?
I'm glad you're giving us positive feedback, as I knew everything would run butter smooth, like yourself, I had reservations about liking the new platform and the new appearance and other changes you're going through with the new device could be overcome by functionality (lol)....
Yep....Mango should come out and lock you in my friend...I imagine after that you'll be glad that usb port died (just please, if you do end up happy about it, don't tell me so...cuz I'm bummed it happened still lol)
I'm curious as you explore...if there will be little things wp7 doesn't have, that the old winmo did...as I have two android devices and the tilt2, I'm finding some things lacking in "the other OS"...little settings (that are sort of kinda actually big deals, to me) are missing...one is...on the tilt2 I can select to show my caller ID to everyone, noone, or just to contacts...can you do that on the Quantum? Have you noticed a need to wonder how ram is controlled? Have you tried opening a zip?.....I'm happy you're on wp7 now (kinda)....I will want to buy a wp7 if someone I trust tells me theye tested it out, put it through it's paces and that it's a solid performer that's user friendly that I can count on to keep me connected to my customers and employees calls and messages and navigates me through my day and gives me awesome browsing and streaming media over the net between my appointments...yep...I'm paying attention to your thread my friend...my usb could go any day too....lol
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I had no idea that you could control the caller id being sent on a per contact basis with the Tilt 2. I imagine it was just inserting *82 or something before dialing. Ultimately the carrier needs to handle the *82 since they do know your number when sending from the tower to the rest of the phone network.
Still early in the testing.
I don't know WP7 settings, on the tilt2, to control caller id setting, I go to start menu>settings>personal>phone>services and then from there I can select "call barring" "caller id" "call forwarding" "call waiting" and "voicemail and text messages"....once an item is highlighted I can click "get settings"...once "get settings" is selected it checks the network settings and then displays the current setting on the network...on the TP2 caller id settings they can be changed on the network from the device...I'm hoping this is possible on WP7
Another question I have is if pinch to zoom works in emails and other apps, not just the browser
GT247 said:
I don't know WP7 settings, on the tilt2, to control caller id setting, I go to start menu>settings>personal>phone>services and then from there I can select "call barring" "caller id" "call forwarding" "call waiting" and "voicemail and text messages"....once an item is highlighted I can click "get settings"...once "get settings" is selected it checks the network settings and then displays the current setting on the network...on the TP2 caller id settings they can be changed on the network from the device...I'm hoping this is possible on WP7
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GT247 said:
Another question I have is if pinch to zoom works in emails and other apps, not just the browser
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pinch to zoom works when reading emails, but not when replying or text messaging.
found the setting about sending caller id on the Quantum
Settings - Apps - Phone. You can pick send to everyone, no one, only contacts
when the device is on a call does the lockscreen lock the buttons and touchscreen? ie: is it a waste of time to try to lock the device while on a call? lol
GT247 said:
when the device is on a call does the lockscreen lock the buttons and touchscreen? ie: is it a waste of time to try to lock the device while on a call? lol
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The exchange server that I use for work pushes a policy forcing the phone to lock.
Pressing the power button on the top not only shuts off the screen but it also locks it.
When I answer the phone, it is easy to unlock, if I want. Just slide up, and enter the code. Then I can do anything while on the call.
The proximity sensor disables the touch screen when you have it by your ear, so you don't actidentally hang up.
Something the phone does not have is physical talk and end buttons. But, I honestly have not had a need for them.
Custom Ringtones and Alert Sounds
Although it's real eay for a developer add ringtones to their device or for anyone that has unlocked it. It is annoying that they have locked this down.
Mango is supposed to allow custom ringtones, so just need to wait.
Supposed to be on September 15th.
Wow...ringtones are locked down? Amazing....really. Please don't think I'm knocking them for doing it, I'm sure there's a reason for it, I just find it surprising is all. Have you examined the GPS Capabilities?
GT247 said:
Wow...ringtones are locked down? Amazing....really. Please don't think I'm knocking them for doing it, I'm sure there's a reason for it, I just find it surprising is all. Have you examined the GPS Capabilities?
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GPS works great.
Good news is that the LG Quantum has a built in reg editor. Kind of clunky. Nothing like the good old Total Commander or Dot Fred Reg Editor.
And the location of there is an app the runs on your computer to make a xap files for ringtones.
And you can then sideload the xap onto the device and the ringtone remains.
First you need to unlock the device.
I have not unlocked mine yet. I should be able to unlock with just a few reg ediits. Haven't done it yet though.
On the 15th Mango officially will be available, and that allows custom ringtones without any hacks.
Some Good threads
Use your Windows Phone as a thumb drive.
Registry mods for WP7 - NoDo
Custom Ringtones
mp3 files work just fine, at least with the NoDo 7392 update.
All the built in ringtones seem to be mp3 as well
Lot of good links here