Database Users

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

Why Google needs “Direct Push” for Google Apps

Direct Push with Google Apps?!?!?!
Hi everyone. I think I might have asked this question before but maybe something has developed in the last few months.
I am running my own IT consulting business and as I get more and more busy my calendar is becoming an ever more important tool. My dear wife went out and got me a good old-fashioned spiral bound day-timer but I have a sophisticated day-timer right here in my pocket in the form of my HTC Touch. As an IT consultant I think I should be using it rather then pulling out the pen and paper. Right now I am using the calendars in my Touch, Outlook, Google Apps and the calendar in the Exchange account I have with one of my customers. Too many calendars and all because I really want to use my Google Apps calendar and have it sync with my Touch.
I really want Google to develop “Direct Push” technology so that I can get my email, calendar and contacts all from my Google Apps account just like it was an Exchange Server. I am even considering switching my email back to an Exchange Server just so I can sync with my Touch. This way my wife could login and add stuff to my calendar and it will appear on my Touch. Right now I have my Email coming in from Google Apps via IMAP, my Calendar synching with Outlook (installed locally on my laptop without Exchange) and my Contacts syncing with my customer’s Exchange server. This is a pain and I want everything in one place that can be maintained/synced in real-time.
I will say this right now and keep in mind that as an IT consultant I like Microsoft’s products and install things like Windows 2003, SQL Server and Exchange on an almost daily basis. If Google develops “Direct Push” for Google Apps it will be an Exchange killer. The only, and I mean only reason I am thinking about switching my domain back to Exchange (I moved from Exchange to Google Apps about 1 year ago) is for the ability to sync everything (not just email) with my Touch.
On the other hand if Microsoft comes out with a version of Outlook/Exchange that dispenses with the whole “Inbox/Sent items/Delete” model and goes for the Google-style “conversation & archive” model along with the search capabilities I might fall back in love with Exchange.
The Fish

Oh and just in case anyone from Microsoft is listening, “threaded inbox” isn’t what I mean by “conversation style”. Come on Microsoft. Just admit that Google has actual built a better mousetrap and managed to improve on the age-old email model of “folders” and “sent items”. Go ahead and copy them… copy, copy copy! Oops sorry, I mean “embrace and extend, embrace and extend”

Something like that would be great!

matthew232 said:
Something like that would be great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And not to mention totally do-able. There is already an non-Exchange mail server out there called “KerioMail Server” that implements Microsoft’s Direct Push protocol. Check out this link http://www.kerio.com/kms_activesync.html
Microsoft’s Direct Push is entirely HTTP based. It shouldn’t be that difficult for Google to do.
The Fish.

I guess you have to wait for Google Android.

thefish123 said:
On the other hand if Microsoft comes out with a version of Outlook/Exchange that dispenses with the whole “Inbox/Sent items/Delete” model and goes for the Google-style “conversation & archive” model along with the search capabilities I might fall back in love with Exchange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The moment they do that (without giving an option) is when I would have to quit using Exchange. I **hate** Gmail's threading and forward those mails to another account that isn't threaded (and the fact that they don't let you turn it off).

I know it's not exactly what you're looking for, but have you checked out any of the 3rd party sync options? GMobileSync is a free little program that allows bidirectional syncing for your calendar (not push though). GooSync offers a free service level that also gives you calendar syncing. If you upgrade to their payed version (I think it is something like $30-40 for a whole year) you get not only calendar sync, but contacts, tasks etc. Might be worth a look.

jeffreycentex said:
The moment they do that (without giving an option) is when I would have to quit using Exchange. I **hate** Gmail's threading and forward those mails to another account that isn't threaded (and the fact that they don't let you turn it off).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Microsoft would never do it without making it an option. But I am surprised to hear you say that you head Gmail’s threading. Quite honestly you have got to be the FIRST person I have heard say that.
I have never (till now) talked to anyone who switched to Gmail who didn’t have anything but good to say about it. Most people I know who use Outlook or Outlook Express and who do ANY real volume of email spend at least an hour to two hours a day “organizing” their email. They have a whole list of sub-folders under their Inbox and then have almost the exact same set of sub-folders under their “Sent Items”. They spend time trying to decide how to file things or if they should file it in the first place or just delete it. Sometimes they delete and email and two of three days later the whole issue has ballooned into a big issue and they are filing the responses but no longer have their original email because they didn’t think it would become important.
Gmail lets me keep my Inbox clean while at the same time never worrying about filing or organizing or having trouble finding things back. I would probably hate Gmail if I was still trying to fit it into my narrow 20-year-old “I must use folders” paradigm of thinking (which I did when I first started using Gmail) but it was fun to give up on that and the new paradigm of “never file, never delete” is so superior.
I don’t really case WHERE my email is as long as I can find it back in a natural way. I think in years to come we are going to see the same thing happening on computers and to some extent we already are. The #1 reason most people hate Windows Vista is because of the way the new “Explorer” obscures the hierarchal folder model that everyone is used to from our Norton Commander days. It is really very Mac-like. Most Mac users couldn’t tell you where their pictures were in terms of a “directory” or a “folder” but they have less trouble finding them, or copying them to a USB drive, or attaching them to an email then most Windows users.
If we ever do see WinFS (Windows Future Storage) it is supposed to be a Microsoft SQL layer bolted on top of the file system and gives you database-style searchability with all kinds of meta data attached.
The thinking behind the Reiser file system is that any structure on top of the file system for storing data indicates that the file system isn’t doing it’s job. And I can kinda see the point.
The Fish

I agree, Gmail should definately come out with direct push technology
I currently use gmail with pocket outlook with imap.
It's annoying having it set to check my email in intervals.
I didn't even know what direct push was until today, until i saw a friend using his phone w/ his private exchange server...my first reaction was wow...i want that!!
I'm hoping android will implement features like direct push, among others.

surgex0 said:
I didn't even know what direct push was until today, until i saw a friend using his phone w/ his private exchange server...my first reaction was wow...i want that!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It’s not even so much that I want “push” email (although that would be cool). The biggest issue is that there is no way to sync my Calendar and my Contacts with Gmail. This means I either A) have to use the Calendar/Contacts on my Touch in their “stand alone” form without syncing to anything or B) have to sync them with something else.
I really like being able to use my web-based Gmail calendar (Google Apps) but I wish like crazy there was some way to get this on my Touch.
The Fish.
PS: when you sign-up for Google Apps it asks you what (if any) previous mail system you used. As an example it says in brackets “Microsoft Exchange”. This makes me think that Google Apps is positioning themselves to take the SMB email market away from Exchange. I think if they really want to do this they will make Google Apps look just like an Exchange Server to the millions of WM devices out there. Currently I am seriously considering moving my email back to Exchange when I get my own server online (in a few weeks).

Google's apps for WM are all in java aren't they?
I know the gmail one is, and it sucks big c---.
I'd rather use opera and gmail html mobile than use their ****e java client.

surgex0 said:
Google's apps for WM are all in java aren't they?
I know the gmail one is, and it sucks big c---.
I'd rather use opera and gmail html mobile than use their ****e java client.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Googlemaps apparently has a native app now (altho I would rather use Livesearch), so no, they aren't all JAVA. I take it you visit the HTML site instead of using IMAP so that you can see the threading and other g-mail features?

If you want gmail to push, use SEVEN at
community.seven.com
john

Sync & Push
I use www.mobipush.com to push my gmail and it works instantaneously. Fantastic. This is free, perhaps only while they are in beta.
I also use www.oggsync.com for syncing my calendar. There is a free version, but I bought the software and daily sync about 11 calendars 2 months backwards and 2 years forwards. Hardly ever any issues. They are working on contact sync - have a public beta out now.

surgex0 said:
Google's apps for WM are all in java aren't they?
I know the gmail one is, and it sucks big c---.
I'd rather use opera and gmail html mobile than use their ****e java client.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don’t know if it’s really the Gmail client that sucks so much as that it just doesn’t run properly on the version of Java that comes on my Touch (the Bell Mobility Touch in Canada). I was pretty happy to have the Java Gmail client on my Razr back before I got my Touch.
That being said I keep hoping they will come out with a native Windows Mobile version like they did with Google Maps. But then again it seems kinda silly to come out with an email client for a device that already has a built-in integrated email client. The better solution would be to make the pre-exiting email, calendar and contacts features work properly (as in within their native capacity – meaning DirectPush) with their Gmail counterparts.
The Fish

My first thoughts on the Hero

Okay, my first thoughts on the Hero.
Good
------
Hardware is lovely. The unit feels just right in the hand, and graphite colour is great.
Screen is very sharp and has excellent colour.
Sense UI is a huge improvement over stock Android is virtually every way.
HTC E-Mail client is great compared to standard cupcake version.
Browser is very fast, and text wrapping is very effective.
Phone is now unlocked and running on Vodafone (thanks to the folks at unlock-now.com). It detects this, and offers to update all my settings accordingly. Nice.
Bad
----
HTC Smart Dialer doesn't correctly display contacts that only have a company name in them. The numbers show up but with 'unknown' next to them. They display properly in the 'People' application, so it's definitely a HTC bug (I seem to remember the same problem with early versions of this dialer on WM).
GMail client won't let me set a 'reply-to' field. I use GMail for all my e-mail, but use a forwarding service (pobox.com) so want to set my reply to field accordingly. I can get the functionality by using the HTC e-mail client, but then I lose HTML mail capability.
GMail and HTC Mail don't integrate in the mail widget. You can only see accounts configured using HTC Mail.
Flash in browser is very hit and miss. Some simply stuff works, but not much.
Standard calendar application is rubbish. The iPhone is way better here. I guess I'll be looking for a third party alternative.
I'll post more as I discover it.
Bagpuss.

Cool, thanks for the quick update.
When you say the standard calendar is rubbish, can you elaberate more on this? I use the calendar quite a bit and was hoping there would be a widget to show tasks/appointments on my home screen.
Any chance of a video going round the calendar or a good detailed explanation of it?

Sorry to ask again, but the reviews say that the phone WILL sync directly with Outlook (not just exchange) and I have ordered one on that understanding. Could you confirm this for me, please? Ta...

bigbamboo5 said:
Sorry to ask again, but the reviews say that the phone WILL sync directly with Outlook (not just exchange) and I have ordered one on that understanding. Could you confirm this for me, please? Ta...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, don't know about this as I don't use Windows or Outlook.
From what I understand, you can sync with Outlook, but you need to use the HTC Sync software. The only problem is that HTC haven't yet made the Hero version available for download. If you go to their support site, they don't have a section for the Hero yet. I'm guessing this will change once the phone is officially released SIM free.
Bagpuss.

nicelad_uk said:
Cool, thanks for the quick update.
When you say the standard calendar is rubbish, can you elaberate more on this? I use the calendar quite a bit and was hoping there would be a widget to show tasks/appointments on my home screen.
Any chance of a video going round the calendar or a good detailed explanation of it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main problem is that you can't get a month view, and be able to move across days to see what they actually contain. On my E71, you see the month calendar on the left, and a small pane on the right which changes to show the events for each day. On the iPhone, you get something similar, but see the details at the bottom of the screen. On the Hero, you get a full screen month display, but have to click on individual days to see the detail. Not a big thing for some, but it's a change to what I like.
You can go to what they call 'Agenda' view which gives you a long list of all upcoming appointments, but you can't get a week view. There is a day view, however.
There is a calendar widget, and it does show today and tomorrow details, but it's very small.
Hope that helps,
Bagpuss.

"Phone is now unlocked and running on Vodafone (thanks to the folks at unlock-now.com). It detects this, and offers to update all my settings accordingly. Nice."
Hi I´m newby spanish user.
I just bougth an HTC Hero with orange and I will like to use the phone with movistart => I need to free the phone. Is it the same as unlock the phone? Is a good method unlock using emai? Did you do it at "http://hero.unlock-now.com/sim-unlock-HTC-Hero/"?
A lot of thanks, sorry for my bad english.
Best regards,
zeed82

Any Speed Issues noticed? Can You give us a brief Comparison to fE iphone 3G, 3GS or maybe TouchHD/Blackstone?

Thanks for the quick little review!
Just a quick couple of questions:
- Im not believing the battery life some have stated as the phone seems to be fully working round the clock
- Can the handset be rotated the other landscape way? So that the trackball is on the left side?

zeed82 said:
"Phone is now unlocked and running on Vodafone (thanks to the folks at unlock-now.com). It detects this, and offers to update all my settings accordingly. Nice."
Hi I´m newby spanish user.
I just bougth an HTC Hero with orange and I will like to use the phone with movistart => I need to free the phone. Is it the same as unlock the phone? Is a good method unlock using emai? Did you do it at "http://hero.unlock-now.com/sim-unlock-HTC-Hero/"?
A lot of thanks, sorry for my bad english.
Best regards,
zeed82
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly were I got it unlocked. They were incredibly fast. I had my unlock code within about 10 minutes of ordering.
Simply insert your foreign SIM, it will prompt you for the unlock code. Enter the code from unlock-now.com, and it all works.
Bagpuss.

sphinxy said:
Thanks for the quick little review!
Just a quick couple of questions:
- Im not believing the battery life some have stated as the phone seems to be fully working round the clock
- Can the handset be rotated the other landscape way? So that the trackball is on the left side?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure on the battery life at the moment, as I've not had it long enough to tell.
Sadly, you can't rotate it so the trackball is on the left. It's only a software thing, though, so HTC might implement it in future.
Bagpuss.

Hi Bagpuss,
I have a question. I have two different gmail addresses that I normally use. Is it possible to have the two accounts setup in the phone? Basically I want to know how it handles two e-mail accounts and two google calendar accounts.
Thanks mate.

bigbamboo5 said:
Sorry to ask again, but the reviews say that the phone WILL sync directly with Outlook (not just exchange) and I have ordered one on that understanding. Could you confirm this for me, please? Ta...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes the sync software for the orange phone is on the micro sd card provided you plug it in go to mass storage mode and then run the .exe I have syncned all my contacts and calendar , unfortunatly you cannot sync any other outlook items this way currently

Bagpuss said:
GMail client won't let me set a 'reply-to' field.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you set up the reply to address on the Gmail website.
It's in Settings > accounts, and it sends as whatever you have the default email address set to in the 'send mail as' section.
stilghar said:
Is it possible to have the two accounts setup in the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you can not be signed in to two Gmail accounts at once. you can set up a second Gmail account in the mail application to access your mail from the second account, but i don't know any way to access calendars from a second account unless you can share calendars between accounts. maybe that will work?

How is the screen outdoors?

rhedgehog said:
No, you can not be signed in to two Gmail accounts at once. you can set up a second Gmail account in the mail application to access your mail from the second account, but i don't know any way to access calendars from a second account unless you can share calendars between accounts. maybe that will work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I think that will do. I can sign in with one of the Gmail accounts and set the other one in the mail application. Regarding the calendars I just noticed that all my google calendars are only in one of the accounts. So I will sign in on the phone with that one and use the other only in the mail application.
The only problem will be moving all my contacts from one account to the other...

Boesman1 said:
Any Speed Issues noticed? Can You give us a brief Comparison to fE iphone 3G, 3GS or maybe TouchHD/Blackstone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just got mine as well,
I noticed that there was considerable amount of lag for the first hour of using it, but now all the lag is gone and its working amazingly well.
HTC have taken a lot of the ideas from this site and implemented it in the sense ui, Customising the phone is fun and really easy, the only thing I'm unhappy with is being unable to get my Hotmail, and I don't really want it forwarded to my gmail.

xdaman85 said:
the only thing I'm unhappy with is being unable to get my Hotmail, and I don't really want it forwarded to my gmail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct me if wrong, but you can always create a new dummy gmail account, forward your mail to that, and set in the gmail website that your 'identity mail address' (from address AND reply-to) is your hotmail address.
that way other people will not notice you use gmail to retrieve it (unless they look in the headers). Thing is you can't manage your hotmail account that way (delete / move / mark as read your mail)

dipje said:
Correct me if wrong, but you can always create a new dummy gmail account, forward your mail to that, and set in the gmail website that your 'identity mail address' (from address AND reply-to) is your hotmail address.
that way other people will not notice you use gmail to retrieve it (unless they look in the headers). Thing is you can't manage your hotmail account that way (delete / move / mark as read your mail)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funnily I got hotmail working through the standard email app, it doesn't push the email but you can set the frequency at which it syncs, so it's good enough.
Also while using the hero i'v noticed that some times the phone doesn't respond after unlocking and it takes a couple of seconds to respond to your touch.

got mine this morning
only just got home to play with it.....
must say it really "feels"like a nice phone....time to play now

hi all to the lucky owners
reading mobile-review and engadget review they say about slowness and sluggyness and lag and devilsh ****ness
is it becouse they have some prototipe sample or do you confirm all this lag and slowness ?
thanks guys

any MacOSX + Desire HD user?

I was wondering if the general support of DHD under MacOSX, and the practically of it.
Say like I want to sync my iTune songs, iCal event and, Address book with my HTC, will that be a lot of hazzle?
Also, by any chance there are users made their transition from iphone to android? I want to know hows the Contacts management with android compare to the iphone OS?
I am the kind of user that does a lot of texting, emails, has overly crowded schedule on my calendar and take pictures frequently. I was hoping any similar user can share with experience using the DHD, as I am still in deciding if I should get one.
Thanks

just use "Missing Sync for Android"

mymagicmyhero said:
just use "Missing Sync for Android"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I checked it out before, it seems it has a really poor rating. It is that bad?

Nope I'm very happy with this program. It can make transferring contacts very easy. The contacts are transferring with the picture and all the info. You can also sync calendars and many more things.
Its easy to operate with.

Many thanks for your reply.
I do have another question while on the subject, I assume most of the developer tools here, like S-OFF, radio tool, CWM, CustomROM, etc, are all made for windows platform?

franklin20uk said:
Many thanks for your reply.
I do have another question while on the subject, I assume most of the developer tools here, like S-OFF, radio tool, CWM, CustomROM, etc, are all made for windows platform?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately yes, they are.

Instead of missing sync I suggest Doubletwist for OS X. It's like iTunes for Android. It even syncs itunes playlists.

Just export your contacts to vCard, then import them in google contacts! about iCal just configure to use google calendar, for iTunes Double Twist
Cheers mate

gunnyman said:
Instead of missing sync I suggest Doubletwist for OS X. It's like iTunes for Android. It even syncs itunes playlists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1.
I own a DHD and an iMac, I use DoubleTwist to sync music.
My address book and iCal are synced with Google Contacts/Calendar and the DHD is synced with my google account.
All the Rooting tools sadly are only for Windows but you can simply use some adb commands for the rooting process.

Amit.W said:
+1.
I own a DHD and an iMac, I use DoubleTwist to sync music.
My address book and iCal are synced with Google Contacts/Calendar and the DHD is synced with my google account.
All the Rooting tools sadly are only for Windows but you can simply use some adb commands for the rooting process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the Google Contacts and Calender synced over the air (wifi/3d) with your android?
I wonder if it is possible to sync my hotmail contacts to the google contacts as well?

Yes, very interesting thread. I am using iPhone 4 now and am considering changing to DHD. I have couple of questions too (especially to those who converted from iP to DHD):
1. Is the phone app and signal better than in iP?
2. Is battery life the same (basically one day) as in iP?
3. From the reviews on UTube I am sensing that navigation/maps are inferior versus the Google Maps for iP. Is it true?
4. Is the system search instant as in iP? How about writing sms or email - when you start typing in the address line, are names appearing instantly?
Thanks in advance!

franklin20uk said:
Many thanks for your reply.
I do have another question while on the subject, I assume most of the developer tools here, like S-OFF, radio tool, CWM, CustomROM, etc, are all made for windows platform?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but a lot of developers , Cyanogen for one, actually use non windows OSes. So there are manual methods of doing S-OFF and root quite easily, also there are cross platform tools such as QtADB which allow you to manage ADB if your not comfortable with CLI

Well for me I had problems with double twist regarding the meta tags. Do all the editing with another program manually.
For copying mp3 files and photos I use my partition, but for roms and basically all other stuff I use my win 7 boot camp partition.
So I can use all the windows exe files and also don't have to eject the drive after copying some new stuff on my sd card
Swyped from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

Amator72 said:
Yes, very interesting thread. I am using iPhone 4 now and am considering changing to DHD. I have couple of questions too (especially to those who converted from iP to DHD):
1. Is the phone app and signal better than in iP?
2. Is battery life the same (basically one day) as in iP?
3. From the reviews on UTube I am sensing that navigation/maps are inferior versus the Google Maps for iP. Is it true?
4. Is the system search instant as in iP? How about writing sms or email - when you start typing in the address line, are names appearing instantly?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if I am right, but reception strength mostly is down to how good your phone network is. Regardless the little incident of the iphone "death grip"
Also, I think we simply cant generalize the battery life of a smartphone base on a few individual cases, because there is so many different things you can do on your smartphone, therefore too many factors to take into account. That being said, I think generally any smartphone that can last a little more then a day is good enough for me, especially when you are around a computer a lot like me. Your phone will hardly die since you are always in the proximity of a charger.
For the Google Maps and GPS function, I would be quite surprise if Google Maps in Android isn't implemented better iPhone. I mean come on, isn't google maps and android made by the same company????
From my observation, I think the Google Search in android is a little better then the standard search in iphone, I could be wrong thou, I would be interested to hear from users with first hand experiences.

Amator72 said:
Yes, very interesting thread. I am using iPhone 4 now and am considering changing to DHD. I have couple of questions too (especially to those who converted from iP to DHD):
1. Is the phone app and signal better than in iP?
2. Is battery life the same (basically one day) as in iP?
3. From the reviews on UTube I am sensing that navigation/maps are inferior versus the Google Maps for iP. Is it true?
4. Is the system search instant as in iP? How about writing sms or email - when you start typing in the address line, are names appearing instantly?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a I4 for 6 month and now I'm a happy user of a DHD.
1. The signal problem depend on the carrier. I haven't any problem with I4 and it's the same with the DHD.
2. On the beginning, the baterry life is not great but it becomes good after 1 week (1 day but with the I4, I was on 2 day).
3. I used Navigon on I4 and I use the same navigation app on the DHD. The app start more slowly as on the I4 but there is no problem.
4. I doesn't use a lot the search instant. I have no problem with SMS or e-mail writing and the names appear quickly.
Synchronisation with my Mac.
Calendar and Contact : Synchronisation Mac <-> Google <-> DHD. I have before MobileMe. I imported all in Google and activated the synchronisation without any problem.
Itunes, photos, videos, podcast : Salling Media Sync sold on the Mac Store, this sinchronisation is done via USB (faster synchronisation). I have no problem with DHD and the song bought on Itunes. A lot of format are included by HTC.

Thanks a lot! I am starting to consider to wait for the alleged Desire HD2. Is it going to be launched this year indeed? If they launch it that fast this must mean they would be going for fast fixes ver the first version.

faggi said:
Calendar and Contact : Synchronisation Mac <-> Google <-> DHD. I have before MobileMe. I imported all in Google and activated the synchronisation without any problem.
Itunes, photos, videos, podcast : Salling Media Sync sold on the Mac Store, this sinchronisation is done via USB (faster synchronisation). I have no problem with DHD and the song bought on Itunes. A lot of format are included by HTC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a question regarding syncing iCal to Google Calender. It seems then after I added Google Calender to my iCal, all the future events that I add under "Google Calender" will be synced both ways.
However, all my old events previously added in my Home calender still stays offline. Is there a way to solve this? I can't even more my home calenders to Google Cal.
Please help

franklin20uk said:
I have a question regarding syncing iCal to Google Calender. It seems then after I added Google Calender to my iCal, all the future events that I add under "Google Calender" will be synced both ways.
However, all my old events previously added in my Home calender still stays offline. Is there a way to solve this? I can't even more my home calenders to Google Cal.
Please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before the synchronisation of ICal with google, I imported all my events im Google (do an export of the events on your desktop and after go to google to import it, by this way, you will have a backup of your events). And after that I have done the synchronisation with ICal. When all Events are in ICal, I deleted the old calendar to delete the double events.

Amator72 said:
Yes, very interesting thread. I am using iPhone 4 now and am considering changing to DHD. I have couple of questions too (especially to those who converted from iP to DHD):
1. Is the phone app and signal better than in iP?
2. Is battery life the same (basically one day) as in iP?
3. From the reviews on UTube I am sensing that navigation/maps are inferior versus the Google Maps for iP. Is it true?
4. Is the system search instant as in iP? How about writing sms or email - when you start typing in the address line, are names appearing instantly?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Not noticed a difference between the two
2. Owning both, DHD is definitely worse but you can make it a lot better with a heck of a lot of tweaking so if that float your boat then it could be the same again.
3. No way, DHD wins in this area.
4. Yes, both in address line but also in the universal search like with Spotlight
Calendar as faggi highlighted, do an export from iCal first and then import in Google Calendars and then you can subscribe to it in iCal and it will sync with cloud and phone. However please be aware that if you have multiple calendars it looks rather clumsy in iCal when using Google compared to MobileMe
Contacts synching via Google contacts work well. However for some stupid reason, which as far as I have been able to found out has existed for years now, Google has a habit of compressing photos that you assign to contacts. A real bad thumbs down that is. Then also if you have people with double barreled names, pre/post fix titles Google gets its knickers in a twist also. It tries to be too clever in how it tries to understand where the space is and which part of the name goes well. This was perfect in MobileMe and Google is just messing it up, I've had to change my own name to get it to work.
Music/Video/Photos - Doubletwist is your friend, it works well together with iTunes. Just be aware, yet again Google has half heartedly implemented a standard and for whatever daft reason it doesn't recognise compilation albums using the correct MP3 metadata tags so those albums are really mixed up on the device.
Just don't expect the level of integration like on iOS/OSX/iTunes where if you were watching a movie on say your AppleTV and paused it and then continue on your phone it would be exactly there where you left. Android is rather dumb that way.
But otherwise it is an ok phone.
For the radio flash etc had to open Windows but my Windows 7 image in VMWare did it all perfectly fine. For the rest once you install the sdk in OSX you can do anything via the tools in there.

btw, is there a way to unlock the phone using a Mac, or I have to do it thru windows?
thanks

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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 !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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...