What Do You Do With Your Herald/Wing? - Wing, P4350 General

Hey guys,
I was kinda bored and i asked myself: What do those guys do with their device?
So i kinda posted a new thread.
Please share what you do with your device.
Im using my herald for work. Appointments, notes, TomTom. All that kinda stuff.
Moderators, you can make this sticky if you want. It's just a thought.

I use it for the phone and the calender (PI8) and the camera and the alarm clock (SPB time) and the generally customizable awesomeness so i can change what i use it for whenever i want.
THAT was a lot of "and".

I used my phone (and hope to use it again because of bricking) for lots of stuff. The most important issue is the phones basic features communication (of course) SMS, the phone itself, recieving Emails trough my private Wlan, also to-do-lists and appointment planning.
Second comes the awefull translator from plecosoft Chinese<->English with character recognition, I think it's a MUST for every chinese language student.
Another funny gimmick for university is to control your laptop through the Herald via Bluetooth. Great for Powerpoint, cause the Herald's touchscreen acts like a computer mouse.
Oh, I forgot Mortplayer for Mp3's and my favorite Video-Podcasts (tough you have to transcode them before viewing).

I use mine to pick up chicks.

Sorrowedsniper said:
Another funny gimmick for university is to control your laptop through the Herald via Bluetooth. Great for Powerpoint, cause the Herald's touchscreen acts like a computer mouse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would have never thought of that, but that's a great idea. I use my phone for a lot of texting, gaming, music, movies, internet surfing, and weather updates.

I use my phone for work, ie... contacts and appointments; I also flash about once a week for cool customizations. I try and keep up on all the coolest apps to show off to my friends that paid for a "locked" iphone.

i use it for work and fun i also use it to my laptop as a modem
does tom tom work for the wing?

I use it to do lots of things, the least of which is use it as a phone ahaha.
It's more of a mobile internet and news source for me, I have some games on it (Guitar hero etc)
And I like customizing my themes
It all has to match
Which is pissing me off cuz I don't have the time to make a nice mobile shell theme

All kinds of things
For work: Exchange Push Email/contacts/calendar, Google Maps, VPN access (OpenVPN), Remote Desktop and SSH (Pocket PuTTY), SMS/MMS for network monitoring alerts. Mileage and expense tracking. And voice calls.
Personal: Checks 4 email accounts, weather radar, games, checkbook/cash tracking, stream XM Radio via Internet, MP3 player, severe weather alerts via SMS/MMS. And voice calls.

Watching porn... jk
Use it for a bit of everything

Sorrowedsniper said:
Another funny gimmick for university is to control your laptop through the Herald via Bluetooth. Great for Powerpoint, cause the Herald's touchscreen acts like a computer mouse.
What do you use to do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

norbythegeek said:
For work: Exchange Push Email/contacts/calendar, Google Maps, VPN access (OpenVPN), Remote Desktop and SSH (Pocket PuTTY), SMS/MMS for network monitoring alerts. Mileage and expense tracking. And voice calls.
Personal: Checks 4 email accounts, weather radar, games, checkbook/cash tracking, stream XM Radio via Internet, MP3 player, severe weather alerts via SMS/MMS. And voice calls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
weather radar you say? =o
on the internet or a program? *finding...*

Hmmm...
Good question... Here are the things that immediately jump to mind:
Internet browsing
E-mail
Weather
Streaming talk radio
Telnet / SSH / RDP
TomTom / G.Maps / Live for Navigation
WiFi Site Surveys
Fring for VoIP / IM
Contact and Calendar sync
Remote Control and Notification for LinuxMCE Media / Security Network
And, occasionally, I even make or receive a phone call or SMS...

Related

Various Questions!!!

Hi There,
I am looking to purchase a device; mainly to be used to send/receive e-mail's on the move but also am interested in any extra functionality available to me!!
At the moment I am choosing between this (T-mobile Vario) and the Blackberry 8700. I was wandering if anyone would be willing to give me a quick comparison and maybe a personal reccommendation!!?
Also I was reading in a previous thread about a blackberry add on for the Vario....would anyone be able to give me a rough run-down on how/if that works at all please!!
I appreciate your understanding of my simple questions!!
Many Thanks
Dave
HTC Wizard .. its both cheaper and beter.
What good feature do you see in BlackBerry that HTC Wizard doesn't have?
I'm guessing that you've never used either a PDA or a Blackberry. The reason I say this is because if you had, the differences would be immediately obvious.
Blackberry is good at doing one thing and one thing only: email. There are very few apps available, and even fewer are free. There is no touchscreen. Browsing is difficult because of this, and many programs are a pain for the same reason. WM Smartphones has the same issue.
Both do email, but Blackberry is generally better (for now). What WM PDAs do better than Blackberry is... everything else. Look through these forums (fora?) and see what other people are doing with their PDAs. Anything they can do, NO MATTER THE PDA, you can do with a Wizard, and with very few exceptions, cannot do with a Blackberry.
My boss has a Blackberry from work, and I have a Wizard. I can't get my work email on my Wizard because it's not allowed yet at our organization. BUT, I can browse Outlook Web Access and view it when I want. I also can get my 5 personal email accounts on my Wizard, which he can't do on his Blackberry. Finally, he tried browsing Kelly Blue Book when buying a car, failed miserably and called me, and I looked it up on my Wizard.
Next, I have mapping programs, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, games, astronomy, a camera, dictionary, ebooks, music, videos, pictures, and on and on...
IMHO, anyone who's ever owned even a basic PDA would never bother choosing a Blackberry. You just lose so much functionality. If you don't need that and just want email, go for it.
uwaku said:
Blackberry is good at doing one thing and one thing only: email. There are very few apps available, and even fewer are free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Email with Wizard isn't a problem after the last ROM where SyncML for e-mail (push) is supported. You also have VPN support to accessing company networks.
uwaku .. what type of company mail setup do you have? You should not blame the Wizard for that your company don't allow you to connect your e-mail.
Comparing SyncML and BlackBerry.. is BlackBerry even a standard protocol? SyncML is a standard:
http://www.openmobilealliance.org/tech/wg_committees/workinggroups.html
Cool; sounds like the Wizard is definately more for me than the Blackberry....which is what I was leaning towards anyways. The one thing that I did want to know is whether you can get Hotmail on to the Wizard without having to go through the web browser (ie; go to www.hotmail.com).
Many Thanks
yes, hotmail access is pretty good on the wizard, It comes with Pocket MSN, once you've put your username and password into that it will add your hotmail emails and account the the windows email application, so no messing with www.hotmail.com

Business people out there?

Hi
I have my HD for already a week and it's amazing!!.
but I decided to buy it because I needed a tool like this for business purposes, by now I'm using it for mail on the go, and of course like a powerful agenda with Pocket Informant, but due my short experience with a pocket PC, I know that there must be much more uses and software that I don't know yet, then I would like to ask for advices about this matter, may be software or even tips to be able to to take more advantages of this incredible phone!
BTW I found this two thread, but are quite short
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=450957&highlight=business
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=436642&highlight=business&page=1
Thanks!!
hi, im not quite sure what you are asking for? but, i use mine for work to. i dont find the need for anything extra than what is already included in M$ mobile office
i use the calendar and outlook which is synced through my organisations exchange server though activesync over the mobile network. in the main i do this manually but also by setting it up to do autosync at intervals.
you can set it to have pushmail too if your companies mail server will allow this
pocket outlook does all that the full pc version does (near as dammit) email, access to my corporate address book, meeting scheduling and invites etc etc
is that what you wanted to know?
OK, here is the "business" oriented sub-set of all my apps:
apMemo 2.3 http://www.apsoftsystems.com/apmemo/index.htm
apMemo allows for alarmed note taking on the go
Ilium Listpro 5.0.0.2016 http://www.iliumsoft.com/site/lp/listpro.htm
Listpro is great - I use this for whole loads of lists on the PC and HD and swop the lists back and forth
Metro 5.71 http://www.nanika.net/Metro/
Metro is useful for business trips (and pleasure)
MxCalculator 2.1 http://www.trancreative.com
NewsGator Go! 2.0.0.25419 http://www.newsgator.com/Individuals...o/Default.aspx
I use a RSS feeder for business news
Pocket Informant 8.51 http://www.webis.net/index.php
RCX Lexipedia 1.2 http://www.revolution.cx/Lexipedia/Lexipedia.htm
Yes, I know this is an old app but it's still there when I need answers and don't want to go online
SBSH PocketBreeze 5.4.15 http://www.sbsh.net/products/windows...c/pocketbreeze
Fantastic today plugin to view my calender (must be used with SecondToday)
SPB Finance 2.7.0 http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/finance/?en
Not really business, but keeps track my my finances
From my thread comment: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3117017&highlight=secondtoday#post3117017
I use keepass for securing those important but (sometimes) easy to forget ID's & passwords:
hi, im not quite sure what you are asking for? but, i use mine for work to. i dont find the need for anything extra than what is already included in M$ mobile office
i use the calendar and outlook which is synced through my organisations exchange server though activesync over the mobile network. in the main i do this manually but also by setting it up to do autosync at intervals.
you can set it to have pushmail too if your companies mail server will allow this
pocket outlook does all that the full pc version does (near as dammit) email, access to my corporate address book, meeting scheduling and invites etc etc
is that what you wanted to know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, well yes something like that I was looking for, but may be a little more focused in meetings and projects, I'm using list Listpro for this two purposes but I can imagine there are better and specialize software for this.
about meetings I need to lead meeting sometimes, and write down some ideas or comments in each topic on this meetings.
same with projects, I start a project, and I need to write down all the steps of it, and the progress of each one too
thanks Cheesy Dave, there are really useful app there!
thanks audscott
i guess im a caveman when it comes to such business things... i just use ms word to make lists
notepad for basic notes
i find that the ms mobile office suite included does all i need (along with the other software in pocket outlook such as tasks etc)
small tip if you do want to use a different front end like SBSH PocketBreeze or spb pocketplus etc
dont need to run secondtoday type progs which just chew up more memory, just untick manila from the today plugins screen and do away with manila. personally i find it to be just bells and whistles and not much function, uses loads more system resources than other after market apps with nothing more (less in my opinion) on offer
i use spb pocketplus together with spb weather and spb phone suite all sat as my front screen. i can access all my needed software with one touch, make calls with one touch, switch ring profiles with one touch fire up wifi with one touch... in fact 99% of what i need to do with my HD i do with 1 touch using this set of software. the only time i need to use the stylus is for typing (im kak handed using my fingers to type and am pretty fast with the stylus)
as i said up there^^^^ i use MS office for all my other bits as i can bang it stright over to my laptop to use the full versions if necessary
i guess its down to what you need, what you like and what you get used to. ive been using this combo of progs for 4 years now so am a bit stuck in the mud so to speak
ill try to do a screen grab of my today page to show you what i mean.... but you might not like it as i am very much in favour of function over form
(ive trialled spb mobile shell and spb diary but again find them unecessary.... why do you need a diary on your today screen when it is one touch away and a hell of a lot more confidential if your diary isnt open for all to see all the time (i work in healthcare so confidentiality is a big requirement! )
business
I have been using pda in my construction business for many years to keep appointments. I tend to forget them and rely on the alarm. I have most of the incoming phone calls redirected to the phone. I use agenda one because you can link contacts to appointements i.e the alarm sounds to tell me to meet Mrs Smith. I click on that and it brings up Mrs Smiths address.
We are trying business contact manager for outlook in the office as a CRM and have tried the pda add in to view them. It just does,t work. I have heard over other software that makes the contacts visible in outlook mobile.
I also use mine mainly for Business (and pleasure), work in an Australasian role with travel in Australia and New Zealand.
Must admit I am VERY impressed with the function and accuracy of WorldCard mobile. Sure beats the manual data entry of B-Card info
A few of the apps I'm using on my HD
SPB Traveller - to manage my flights, accomodation and rental car bookings.
GarminXT - with Australia and New Zealand maps to help me get to the places I need to.
SPB Weather - helps me know what to expect and what to take when I travel.
SPB Time - My travel alarm clock etc.
SPB Wallet - Helps me remember the multitude of logon details for company (and private)
systems access as well as credit cards and so on.
SPB Finance - Tracks my out of office expenses for me.
Pocket Investor - Mobile management of my stocks.
Softmaker Suite - A really great set of applications which provide me FULL edit and formatting alignment for my Word, Excel and Powerpoint files.
Pocket Informant - Replaces the PIM
RESCO Utility pack - Great file management for shifting documents around, deleting etc.
A few other general apps.
HD Tweak
Gsen
Sprite Backup
MSS Convertor
SKTools
SPB Mobile Shell (but using the "ChangeSKIN" application to provide multiple contact photo screens etc. )
SPB Phone Suite
SPB Brain Evolution
Opening multiple files in Excel Mobile
jonajuna said:
i use MS office for all my other bits as i can bang it stright over to my laptop to use the full versions if necessary
i guess its down to what you need, what you like and what you get used to. ive been using this combo of progs for 4 years now so am a bit stuck in the mud so to speak
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi jonajuna, I am a new Touch HD user (and this is my first PDA). Since you use the Office so extensively, could you please help me - how can I open more than one document e.g. in Excel? I often use Excel documents in my work and I constantly need to copy&paste info from one Excel file into another.
Thanks!
I'm also useing mine for business and pleasure. Works well with appointments, addresses, GPS, etc. during business hours.
I've picked up an HTC Touch HD, and I'm a semi-business/pleasure/personal user.
Here are some of the items that I found were useful for me.
As far as the MSDict and MSPhrase apps go, you can find English -> Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Russian, Malaysian, Chinese (trad and simplified), Korean and so on!
Here are the links for the Japanese one since I've been up all night downloading these.
http://htc-touch-hd-t8282.handster.com/product.php?id=3113
http://htc-touch-hd-t8282.handster.com/product.php?id=639
And SPB Traveler is great when it comes on converting common knowledge from overseas such as units, clothing sizes and linguistics as it helps me identify and use the right phrases.
http://htc-touch-hd-t8282.handster.com/product.php?id=439
Also, since I'm both in class and at work, sometimes I'll need a really powerful calculator and the Touch HD does not disappoint with it's capabilities.
http://htc-touch-hd-t8282.handster.com/product.php?id=3627
http://htc-touch-hd-t8282.handster.com/product.php?id=175
There you go, hope this helps.
Hi there,
i´m also one of those guys who using the HTC HD for business.
Maybe the programms i use, would be helpful.
At least it depends on your special needs.
Main focus for me:
Mail -> BBconnect
ToDo list -> MLO ( My Life Organized )
Calender -> Calender Touch
Travelling -> SPB Traveller
If you need further information, just let me know.

Various Questions (Radio Streaming, FTP, MSN and Skype)

Hi all,
Will be hopefully picking up my Desire HD tomorrow or Friday and wondering if someone could point me in the right direction for:
1) Live streaming Radio App. I want to be able to stream a live radio station in MP3 (and if poss, AAC+ formats) directly (when I mean directly, enter the URL of the stations stream, not via a thrid party). Also, can anyone confirm that any one of these particular apps will definately support streaming from a Shoutcast server.
2) Is there an app (im sure there is) that will allow me to use MSN chat?
3) Are there any FTP apps out there, I sometimes need to up/download small files via FTP.
4) Skype. Is there a Skype client for Android? I currently use Fring that covers this and also my point number 2.
5) Mail. What is a good email app for POP accounts and have it check every 10 or 15 mins and notify me of any new emails?
Finally, what is the opinion on the battery performance, I know there is another thread going on about it, but with reasonably high usage throughout the day, will it get me from 7AM to 6PM without failing?
Thanks for your time!
I've been googling around about running Skype on Android and can confirm that there is a mobile version of Skype for Android smartphones
Here's a list of FAQs on "How do I use Skype on my Android phone"
support.skype.com/en/faq/FA10655/How-do-I-use-Skype-on-my-Android-phone;jsessionid=D74D66C7FCE6AA02A8A7C03048C12F40
Ask you questions HERE...please.
Cheers,
M_T_M

Cannot reproduce WM functionality

Dear experienced androiders.
I am new to the platform after 4 years on WM and Nokia S60 before that. It may be my naivity, but so far, although I am loving the hardware and big screen browsing on the DHD, I am struggling to reproduce some of the functionality I have used for the past 6 years on WM and S60.
1) Video calling over 3G network (i.e. not fring or similar apps that use data). The cost of video calls is really cheap where I live, and for my elderly mother it is the ideal way to regularly show her the grandchildren. I am gobsmacked that this is not part of Android when it was part of my S60 phone I got 6 years ago, and both WM handsets that followed.
2) Ring once. Rather than constantly switching between meeting and normal modes, I prefer to set my phone to ring once. If in a meeting and I chose to ignore, it is not very irritating to others as it stops after a single ring, while I still hear it at all times if I want to answer. Now again, I imagined this was a stock feature of all OS's, but cannot find on Android.
3) GPS. One of the main reasons I was keen on the DHD was I read a press release about them teaming up with TomTom and Route 66 and that all maps would be free and could be downloaded to the handset and turn-by-turn instructions were available. I am dismayed that the turn-by-turn is a premium service that requires extra cash, but even in the interim while using the 30-day trial, it comes nowhere close to the TomTom software I had on my last three phones. I cannot easily see why the GPS is not locking by looking at the satellites etc, crucial information is missing from the display, all in all just an inferior product.
4) Multitasking. I hate not being able to flip to another application and back again without the application randomly deciding that I am relaunching it. Part of the problem is not having hardware buttons - I used t have an task mananager hooked to one of my hardware keys on WM, and if I wanted to flip back to my home screen to check something, and then back to the app, it was a simple press of the hardware key. I have read that one should not use taskkillers on Android, but find the built in functionality not very intuitive, including the holding down the home button.
5) Cannot get autosync to sync with gmail but not contacts and calendar. I have problems when my calendar entries from my corporate mail are synced to google and all attendees get reinvited, and do not want to sync contacts, as gmail harvests all sorts of contacts I don't want on my phone. But as soon as I allow gmail to autosync the mail, then the other two also sync.
6) Data autodisconnect. I had my WM set up in such a way that as soon as the data connection was idle, the 3G or Edge connection was dropped. I then set up all applications to sync infrequently or only use data when triggered manually, and was able to ensure excellent battery life. I have found toggles to stop data altogether, or juice defender to allow connections at particular times, but cannot find a way to reproduce the autodisconnect functionality. As soon as I enable data connections the phone connects, even if I have set everything not to sync in the background.
I hope that there are ways of accomplishing all of these things. I know one should not pass judgement until one has spent a decent amount of time with a new phone or OS, but I wonder for now if I am alone in mourning the passing of WM6.x?
Thanks for any advice any of you can offer to get my DHD set up to at minimum reproduce previous functionality.
Hi and welcome to Android.
1) Video calling over 3G network (i.e. not fring or similar apps that use data). The cost of video calls is really cheap where I live, and for my elderly mother it is the ideal way to regularly show her the grandchildren. I am gobsmacked that this is not part of Android when it was part of my S60 phone I got 6 years ago, and both WM handsets that followed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The DHD doesn't have a front facing camera so does not support video calling over 3G/H. Some workaround may be possible with custom ROM's using the rear camera.
2) Ring once. Rather than constantly switching between meeting and normal modes, I prefer to set my phone to ring once. If in a meeting and I chose to ignore, it is not very irritating to others as it stops after a single ring, while I still hear it at all times if I want to answer. Now again, I imagined this was a stock feature of all OS's, but cannot find on Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand this one, having to switch profiles for meetings then switching back becomes a bit of a ball ache. I use an app called Tasker, this allows me to set a profile that reads my calendar and switches to silent when I am in a meeting, it then switches back when the meeting is over. Obviously this requires that all meetings are in my calendar and have start & finish times. I also set it to put my DHD into silent mode if my handset is facing down for 1 minute. As for the ring once only, there may be an app available in the Market.
3) GPS. One of the main reasons I was keen on the DHD was I read a press release about them teaming up with TomTom and Route 66 and that all maps would be free and could be downloaded to the handset and turn-by-turn instructions were available. I am dismayed that the turn-by-turn is a premium service that requires extra cash, but even in the interim while using the 30-day trial, it comes nowhere close to the TomTom software I had on my last three phones. I cannot easily see why the GPS is not locking by looking at the satellites etc, crucial information is missing from the display, all in all just an inferior product.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since my first Android handset (HTC Hero) I purchased CoPilot for around £30 off the Market and it works flawlessly, and as its tied to your Google Account whenever you upgrade you can download it again free of charge and it works again. No need to purchase another copy. Other than that Google Navigation provides turn by turn directions, and that's free.
4) Multitasking. I hate not being able to flip to another application and back again without the application randomly deciding that I am relaunching it. Part of the problem is not having hardware buttons - I used t have an task mananager hooked to one of my hardware keys on WM, and if I wanted to flip back to my home screen to check something, and then back to the app, it was a simple press of the hardware key. I have read that one should not use taskkillers on Android, but find the built in functionality not very intuitive, including the holding down the home button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What apps are you using that this occurs? I often switch between XDA, Browser, Gmail, Messaging, Calendar, Market and it picks up where I left off. This is by holding the Home key and selecting the relevant app. You are correct about the task killers, you really don't need to use them.
5) Cannot get autosync to sync with gmail but not contacts and calendar. I have problems when my calendar entries from my corporate mail are synced to google and all attendees get reinvited, and do not want to sync contacts, as gmail harvests all sorts of contacts I don't want on my phone. But as soon as I allow gmail to autosync the mail, then the other two also sync.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure exactly what you mean in the first sentence. If you wish to sync only Gmail then you need to only allow Gmail. Settings > Accounts & Sync > Tap your Google Account > Deselect everything you don't want.
6) Data autodisconnect. I had my WM set up in such a way that as soon as the data connection was idle, the 3G or Edge connection was dropped. I then set up all applications to sync infrequently or only use data when triggered manually, and was able to ensure excellent battery life. I have found toggles to stop data altogether, or juice defender to allow connections at particular times, but cannot find a way to reproduce the autodisconnect functionality. As soon as I enable data connections the phone connects, even if I have set everything not to sync in the background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again not sure what you mean as you set everything to sync when triggered manually on WM, and when you enable data on Android everything connects and sync's. Isn't that manually triggered? Juice defender has a paid addon Ultimate Juice, this allows you to further refine the criteria at which data is disconnected and enabled. Otherwise I am sure you can create a profile with the Tasker app, it's very versatile and can do practically anything.
Hope this answers a few of your questions.
6) go for juicedefender.
I came from wm just two months ago, and I know your feeling but after a few weeks android to me is like wm 6.5+++ You can do the same things as on wm just a lot better, or different but better. Yes no Tom Tom, but google navigation is better in some ways and lacks in some, but it is free. (try driving on the real photo view.. Fantastic..)
Martinhdk said:
6) go for juicedefender.
I came from wm just two months ago, and I know your feeling but after a few weeks android to me is like wm 6.5+++ You can do the same things as on wm just a lot better, or different but better. Yes no Tom Tom, but google navigation is better in some ways and lacks in some, but it is free. (try driving on the real photo view.. Fantastic..)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you use google navigation in real photo view?
The Jones said:
How do you use google navigation in real photo view?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download street for google maps on the market.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
Thanks for the responses
1) Still useful with a rear camera for showing the grandchildren. Apparently galaxy S has this functionality and also gingerbread. Can anyone confirm if it is in the gingerbread roms for DHD on the other forum?
3) No google navigation where I live (South Africa). Co-Pilot tempting, but reviews suggest inferior routing compared to TomTom.
5) cannot find a way of deselecting for autosync, only of manually syncing each one (contacts, calendar, mail) separately
6) Thanks for tasker and juice defender suggestions, still getting to know them
What I should have included in the list is bluetooth activated voice dialing which seems not to work in stock DHD but apparently does in Leedroid, though I have not tried a cooked ROM yet.

Back to Android after iOS, need some help with S5

Hi y'all,
After my EVO died two weeks after contract expired, on top of the original Nexus tablet that slowed to a crawl due to bad memory chips, I swore off the Android devices and went with iOS.
Now, over a year later, I got a shiny new S5 from my employer, with company policy allowing "reasonable" personal use (no 1-900 calls or direct international calls to Timbuktu but otherwise we're allowed to use it for personal calls and data since they have unlimited plans anyway).
So, I plan on giving my iPhone to my son and getting back into Android. I was missing all the customization options, although iOS really grew on me to be honest.
I do have a couple of question, hope someone can help
1) I still own Nova Prime and I much prefer it over the Touchwiz. However, I am unable to find a calendar widget that would show Exchange tasks. I found that the only service that reliably syncs tasks, contacts, and calendar events between Outlook on my work desktop and my home desktop and all of my Android and iOS devices is Hotmail. With Outlook 2013 setting up sync with a Hotmail / Outlook.com calendar / tasks is finally possible and requires no installation of any additional software. So I can finally copy a work email into a task and have it synced to my phone and tablet. But, the only calendar widget on S5 that actually shows these tasks is Mini Today and it seems to only be available in Touch Wiz. I can't install Outlook on Android because it violates company policy (God knows why, since I can set up a EAS account anyway ?). The only other possible solution I can think of may be Pocket Informant but it's $10 and the Android client interface is ugly as hell.
So, do you know of any other screen widget that would show tasks synced from Hotmail account ? Obviously Samsung calendar app shows them even under Nova, but I need a widget that I could glance at without having to start the app.
2) Is there a way to activate voice commands / voice dialing from a Bluetooth headset without having to touch the home button ? It's probably something obvious but I, for the life of me, can't find it. Press and hold on headset button does nothing and double-press redials.
3) The phone came with Otter box case which may as well just have backpack straps attached, it's so ridiculously huge. Can you recommend me a slim case with a clip holster that is sturdy and looks well and most importantly does not allow the phone to easily fall off / get unhooked by accident ?
4) I never had a Samsung before and they seem to have tons of software preinstalled, is most of it bloatware or are some apps actually worth trying ? Any tips appreciated.
Thanks !
Ummagumma said:
Hi y'all,
1) I still own Nova Prime and I much prefer it over the Touchwiz. However, I am unable to find a calendar widget that would show Exchange tasks.
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I use Event Flow calendar widget. it will sync to your exchange account and show events from outlook. I use outlook at work, and the gmail/google calendar on my personal phone (HTC One), and both calendars show up on my Event Flow agenda widget on the GS5. there are many calendar widgets on the play store though, so you may want to try a few.
2) Is there a way to activate voice commands / voice dialing from a Bluetooth headset without having to touch the home button ? It's probably something obvious but I, for the life of me, can't find it. Press and hold on headset button does nothing and double-press redials.
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In the google settings -- search and Now -- voice, you can enable the "Ok Google" trigger phrase to start voice recognition feature, and enable it to use your bluetooth mic for input. When you say "Ok Google", it will pull up the voice search app.
3) The phone came with Otter box case which may as well just have backpack straps attached, it's so ridiculously huge. Can you recommend me a slim case with a clip holster that is sturdy and looks well and most importantly does not allow the phone to easily fall off / get unhooked by accident ?
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I've only been using the Diztronic slim rubber cases as of late. they are thin, fit great, and look great, but I don't think they have a clip model.
4) I never had a Samsung before and they seem to have tons of software preinstalled, is most of it bloatware or are some apps actually worth trying ? Any tips appreciated.
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Ahhh, welcome to the world of samsung bloatware. tons of stuff you probably won't use from samsung and your carrier. here's a tip. go to system settings - applications, and swipe to the "all" screen. from there you can scroll through every app installed on your phone. when you get to one you don't want, tap it, and you'll see an information screen. Most apps that came on the phone have an option to disable them That will freeze the app from the system, but it it won't wipe it out of the phone's storage, so it can be enabled at a later date if you want. I've disabled nearly all the AT&T apps, and quite a few samsung and google apps I don't use.
down the road if you root your phone, you can remove all the system apps you want. but until then, disabling them is the best you can do. The only samsung apps I still have enabled are the TV remote app, music, video, and polaris office.
Thanks !
Unfortunately Event Flow does not show tasks.
I found a few widgets that show Google tasks, but so far only Samsung's Mini Today shows Exchange tasks from Outlook.com.
(..rant..) Given how many people use Outlook at work and at home, and given that Hotmail / Outlook.com is the only service that can sync Outlook emails, calendar, contacts and tasks to an Android or iOS device without having to jump through hoops or install any 3rd party apps on the desktop (a big ordeal and often outright forbidden in many organizations), it is very surprising just how few calendar applications are supporting it. I mean, to sync Outlook to Google Calendar and Tasks you need to buy expensive software and install it; to sync Outlook to Apple you need to install iCloud, which again many companies forbid or block via firewall; to sync Outlook 2013 to Outlook.com you really don't have to do anything but create an account. Yet this seems to be the least supported option, and many programs won't even read Outlook tasks after Android syncs them via EAS account ! WTF.
Hello!
Ummagumma said:
Hi y'all,
4) I never had a Samsung before and they seem to have tons of software preinstalled, is most of it bloatware or are some apps actually worth trying ? Any tips appreciated.
Thanks !
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The only Samsung apps I use are the camera app, the audio & video players as well as the calendar application. I find that all others have bette free alternative on the market. I stop and disable all other stuff. To see what to stop
I usually use GSam battery monitor. Any application I do not use that drains on the battery, I simply disable it.
The reason for keeping the camera audio and video player is that they might use some samsung specific HW/feature (especially true for camera application) that are not fully standard and may not be available to "replacement application"
JM
Oh, if it is not too late...
You might like WatchON preinstalled application. It's universal remote control on your phone...
I use it to control TV, DVD and set top box.
Thanks !
To be honest, the more I use it, the more the darn phone frustrates me. Don't know if it's Samsung, or I forgot the feel of Android, or I just got too used to iOS. The list below can just be me, and I definitely don't want to get anyone offended. But...
1) Can't access flashlight without unlocking the phone. Something I used to do all the time.
2) Can't access calculator without unlocking the phone. Again, something I was very used to.
3) Can't use Google now without unlocking the phone. It listens but most of time I can't get a reply without unlocking.
4) Voice dialing without unlocking the phone is very spotty.
5) When I ask Google Now to tell me my meetings for tomorrow - something I used to do every day driving back home after work, about the only opportunity I have to sit back and relax and plan my day - it tells me that I have a meeting at 7:30, brings up the list of calendar items on screen, and shuts up. Siri would read them to me.
6) S-Voice stops listening after the first few words. Not always. But very often. I was trying to find some kind of a timeout setting but no luck. It just loses interest and runs with unfinished phone number. At least Google Now listens.
Basically using any voice commands without unlocking the phone is very iffy and unpredictable, especially when also trying to use a headphone. I sorely miss Siri.
6) There's no way to get my Outlook.com tasks show up in Widgets. Samsung Mini Today shows SOME of them - I never quite figure out why it would show some tasks due today and not the others. PI for Android is a terrible fugly monster with greatly reduced functionality when compared to PI IOS. Don't know why they couldn't design it to at least look the same. Outlook app could work but unfortunately we can't use it at work because of security concerns (it stores your credentials on Amazon servers so potentially someone could use them to log into company mail). I used to miss Android widgets when I had the iPhone but at least the ones that were available in the pulldown worked well and showed any info I needed and, again, could be configured to be accessible with phone locked.
7) The quality of video chat using Hangouts is worse than what I was getting on same cell or wifi network, calling the same numbers using Facetime. There's jerkiness and choppiness and every now and then the screen would just freeze for a second. Must be something related to Google servers.
The good - huge screen (compared to my old iPhone), customization, can use SD cards, and I am sure that I will eventually get used to it.
Sorry for the rant...

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