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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!
Today at the Google IO keynote, Google announced the new features that Android 2.2 code named "Froyo" will introduce. Android 2.2 will be available via update for the super popular HTC EVO 4G phone this July.
One of the many improvements that Android 2.2 will bring is better performance when running applications. They have made improvements to how applications are compiled that allows apps to run more efficiently, which ultimately allows the applications to run faster and smoother than ever before. Android's web browser Chrome, has also been improved with a 2-3x javascript performance boost using the V8 engine which allows web apps to load a lot faster with Android 2.2. During the live demonstration using Sun's standard Spider javascript test, Chrome on Android 2.2 out performed the same phone running Android 2.1 and even outperformed the Apple iPad running Safari!
Google also announced that Android 2.2 will improve the Chrome browser by adding better HTML 5 support which will allow the browser to utilize features of the phone that were never possible in previous Android OS versions. These new features include the ability for the browser to utilize the phone's accelerometer in web based apps such as Google Maps to change the viewing angle instead of having to use on-screen controls. They also demonstrated how HTML 5 will allow you to use the phone's camera in web-based apps such as Google Buzz to take a picture and share it right from your web-browser! To top it off, Android 2.2 will be the first mobile operating system that will have native flash support. With Android 2.2, the Chrome web browser will have full Adobe Flash Player 10.1 support to allow you to view flash-based websites, play flash games, and more! This is something that not even the iPhone is capable of doing!
While many smartphones already support push notifications to receive email, instant messages, and other notifications instantly. Google is taking this idea to a whole new level with their Cloud to Device messaging API. This new feature allows users to send commands to their Android device to launch applications, perform tasks, and much more. For example, if a user is viewing Google Maps on his desktop computer, with one-click in his desktop browser, the phone will automatically launch Google Maps and open up to the same location that was being viewed on the desktop browser. This is going to be really useful for users who need to quickly switch from their desktop/laptop environment to their phone in a moments notice!
One of the most exciting features for our readers is that Android 2.2 will add a feature that turns your Android device into a portable hotspot. This feature will create a WiFi network that provides internet connectivity for up to 8 WiFi-capable devices using the 3G or 4G mobile networks. While Google didn't say if this will require an additional monthly fee for a tethering plan, we suspect that this feature will require the tethering plan on your phone which is usually an additional $30/month.
While Google said that there are over 20 new enterprise features, they only mentioned that in Android 2.2 there would be Microsoft Exchange support, including auto-discovery, integration with global address book, forced security policies, remote wiping of the device, the ability to easily move application data from one phone to a new Android device, and many more enterprise friendly features that would be announced in the near future.
If you are currently an Android user, you know how great Google's voice search is for searching the web using your own voice. While their voice search feature is already very good, they demonstrated that voice recognition has improved since Android 2.1 as well as a new feature that uses Google Voice called "intentions". "Intentions" is designed to work like a personal assistant, if you say "Call Fifth Floor Restaurant" it will search for the restaurant based on your GPS location, find the phone number for this restaurant, and automatically place the call for you. In Android 2.2 Google Voice also will have a voice translation feature that will translate and speak almost anything you say into another language. This is going to be a must have feature for anyone who travels frequently!
There are also going to be several updates the the Android Market Place including:
Automatic Updates - The ability to have all of your applications automatically update when new versions are available, instead of having to choose to manually update each application.
Google's Auto-Fill Search - Uses Google's Auto-fill search to guess at what you are trying to search for as you begin to type in your search keywords, just as you see on Google's web search.
Search within application data - Now allows you to search within application data such as financial documents, office documents, spreadsheets etc, so that you can find your personal information more quickly and efficiently!
Install/Move Apps to SD Card - With Android 2.2 you can move large applications to the SD card to free up internal memory, and you can even configure Android 2.2 to automatically install large apps to the SD card when internal memory is low.
Desktop Android Marketplace - You will now be able to access the Android marketplace via your desktop on your web-browser. From the desktop version of the marketplace you can view your Android devices, which apps you already have installed, and purchase applications. If you have an Android 2.2 device, when you purchase apps from your desktop, they will be automatically pushed & downloaded to your Android 2.2 device via 3G/4G connectivity without having to tether via USB to sync the application to your phone!
Google also announced a new feature to Android 2.2 that will allow users to access and stream their entire music library from their desktop computer or media center device to their Android device via WiFi, 3G, or 4G! Google has partnered with Sprint & HTC to provide the new HTC EVO 4G to all the developers who attended the Google IO conference. Google said the HTC EVO 4G will provide consumers with the best Android experience possible with it's 4.3in screen, 8mp camera, HDMI output, and most of all the first phone to use 4G technology to provide speeds up to 10mbit/sec!
July? Really? Do you have any other outside sources to confirm that? If so, that kicks some major ass.
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/05/20/htc-desire-incredible-android-2-2-froyo/
Thanks notown775!
Wicked!....if its true!
I doubt it will be in july, froyo may one out publicly and be pushed to the N1 in july but not to the evo, because of sense UI.
I would agree with July as some have mentioned that it might be released wth Froyo 2.2 on June 4th. Since that timeline is very near a July push is more than welcomed news. It's kind of like having a 1.5Ghz processor now instead of 1.00Ghz I think the improvement is going to be spectacular.
There will so many many new phones out and I will be broke by the end of the year
Too bad they were not all GSM based phones so I could just swap out my SIM card and have just one phone number or use the google voice and call it a day
Ummmm, "second half of the year" can be July, or it can be December. It doesn't mention anywhere that it's going to be July.
Judging by past HTC updates, I highly doubt it will be in July. And if HTC does get it, you can be sure Verizon/Sprint etc will be taking it before it goes OTA and disabling the built-in tether, delaying it even longer.
.....yeah its official, July 4th @ 7:05am it will be in my hands :-D
Sent from my soon to be replaced HTC Hero using Tapatalk
they keep mentioning the EVO 4g, so i wouldnt put it past them to have it ready by july.
that sounds to good to be true and too soon for the supersonic.where are you guys getting all the infos from anyway?
2.2 should run fantastic on the Evo hardware. Doubt the update will be allowed OTA on Sprint as soon as it's available from Google, if history is any teacher.
Hopefully WP7 takes a lesson from both Android and iPhone: regular OS updates that enhance functionality on a MOBILE platform.
Either way, whenever the update gets pushed down, it will be a good thing.
Well i doubt we will get the update in july, but engadget said HTC released a statement saying most 2010 phones will get the update. So n1, Desire, Incredible, and the Evo. Most phones by htc in 2010 have ran sense UI so i dont think that will be as big a problem now to get the update, not as much as Sprint pushing it to the Evo will be with the built in teether. engadget.com/2010/05/21/htc-most-phones-launched-in-2010-will-get-android-2-2/
I think the EVO will get priority from HTC since it is essentially their "flagship" device.
We can always hope.
Let's say there's a two or three month delay between Evo release and 2.2 availability - will 2.2 break ROM's created since the 6/4 release? Or any other apps?
That's what stinks.
Technically it should be pretty soon.
I believe the reason it took so long for the Hero to get 2.1 is because it was coming from 1.5 or 1.6 (I don't remember). Since HTC already has 2.1 running with Sense, upgrading to 2.2 with Sense shouldn't be all that difficult considering the bulk of changes are under the hood and have no changes made to the UI itself.
I wonder...what makes Android upgrades more difficult: changes in UI, or under the hood? Any developers out there that can chime in on this?
I think the major problem here is the carrier. I'm sure OS upgrades have to pass some internal control on the carrier, which explains why Nexus One users get updates immediately.
Nexus One got it so quickly due to the fact it didn't have sense UI. Like a computer getting upgraded windows or MAC or Linux, its easy to upgrade the OS but when you have UI its more difficult to keep everything working properly. And it would be a stupid move for HTC to not have this ready for Tue EVO 4g a few weeks, NO days after its released on the N1 !
khov07 said:
I wonder...what makes Android upgrades more difficult: changes in UI, or under the hood? Any developers out there that can chime in on this?
I think the major problem here is the carrier. I'm sure OS upgrades have to pass some internal control on the carrier, which explains why Nexus One users get updates immediately.
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I believe the UI is the biggest problem. Look at CLIQ or Hero or xperia's phone. Also coming from 1.5 Sense to 2.1 Sense is probably a lot more work coming from 2.1 Sense to 2.2 Sense.
HTC offers the updates on their site I believe, not sure if it has anything to do with the carrier.
This one might, as 2.2 enables tethering and hot-spot capabilities. I'm sure carriers will have something to say about that - they have so far.
2.2 isn't as huge an upgrade from 2.1 as it was from 1.5 to 2.1. 2.2 Should be out a lot quicker, as i doubt sense will have to be updated that much
I have been thinking a lot lately about my phone, I have a Galaxy S and I felt some features that were not there or missing without the third party apps, I think putting these together will help making an already amazing operating system even better
1. SMS and call history
Google should come with service where these are backed up on Google servers, or have the option to save it to the external sd card, so that when you format your phone they should be back again. (Yes I know there are third party software’s that does that but something like that should be a part of Google android)
2. Google Talk with Video Integration.
(Right now Yahoo, fringe etc. are there for video chat) but Google should come up with their own video integration service.
3, Google doc support.
Android is lacking with Google doc support, I hope they come up with it, in coming versions.
4. Google chrome,
It should be the default Browser, and should come up as preinstalled browser on the Android.
5. Bookmarks.
Google should come up with a service like xmarks and xpass, which saves your bookmarks and passwords on the servers and sync them with your home and office computers.
6. Video/music player.
I saw this somewhere on the xda where they have put in upcoming default player for android that would be a great thing to come. Also I would want it to have an option where it gives you option to select the directory which you want to scan and put into the music and video player. I don’t want it pick anything and everything (Like the game video/music files)
7. Google sync.
Google should come up with a default pc application, not something like HTC has their own, and Samsung has bull**** kies. Also it should have options to save a back up for settings, sms, applications and call logs etc.
8. Market.
They made the interface better but they still need to sync it much better to the Google account and next time when you format the phone, the applications which the person has always be using, should come in the list of previously installed applications, so that we can install them all in one go.
9. Power saving feature.
I used the task killers etc.. They don’t really do anything. but one thing I do not know when you close the application why does it keep running in background? We don’t really need this, it should be more like Symbian once you close the app, it should not run unless you rerun it.. (This will help fix the battery issues)
10. Google maps.
They are getting better and better day by day with maps, but one thing I would say is still lacking is the navigation part. Google Navigation is really not as good as the Igo, Garmin etc. They should allow you to download the map of the city you are in and should show route by route navigation. Also There is a Mark your place option missing, you can mark your house etc, unless you save it as a contact on Google maps, which is annoying..
This is my experience on Android and features which I feel are missing and can make the Android the best OS on the earth ...
PS. This feedback is more related with software only, if you know any feature that you miss the most, comment
Gaurav Kainth
Android SGS user
196 views 0 reply
Guyz this is not something random picked from some site.. this is what I feel is missing on the android... worth a reading.. may be some devlopers put these issues accoss and might help us all
Contrary to popular believe google software is far from the miracle work it's made out to be. In fact their software is often rather immature. Best example of that is google maps but the whole android os is another example. However, unlike microsoft, google is not looking to provide an all in one solution by themselves. They are in fact intentionally leaving out many of the features you mention in order to make those a commodity (and it works, there are apps for most of those functions). It's bad and good for the enduser at the same time. But considering google's software quality, I think it's mostly positive.
PS: Leaving voice and video out of gtalk on the mobile is retarded. But it will likely change with the new apis introduced in android 2.3
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
They probably do back up your call history and SMS messages lol.
Market should be a part of Android (AOSP), not Google Apps.
1. SMS and call history
Syncing to a server would enrage privacy organisations, regular users don't flash thier phone every week. But being able to read them in Gmail would be awesome.
2. Google Talk with Video Integration.
Will be here within months, Andy Rubin already showed it on the dive into D:mobile interview
3, Google doc support.
Google docs = webbased, you can edit in the webversion.
4. Google chrome,
Browser already uses the V8 engine and the webkit renderer, just like chrome.
5. Bookmarks.
Bookmarks already get saved and synced on google phones and AOSP roms, samsung disabled it?
6. Video/music player.
7. Google sync.
it's called google apps (gmail, calendar, picasa, enz)
8. Market.
AOSP roms automatically reinstall all your apps after a reset/flash, samsung disabled it?
9. Power saving feature.
Apps dont keep running, they just keep in the RAM so they don't need to reload. They only keep running if they have ongoing processes, and then you probably want them to keep running.
10. Google maps.
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10charsoutsideaquote
RambJoe said:
They probably do back up your call history and SMS messages lol.
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Lol yeah you never know but atleast they should give users an access to that
I agree with every point.
This is combination of a gmail app question, accessory question and honeycomb OS question so I'll post it in general.
I received my Moto Bluetooth keyboard today.
This is a huge step forward in having this device be a laptop replacement for 90% of my non-work computer use. However, there are a few things missing:
1. Is there a keyboard shortcut to switch between active applications? Like alt-tab in windows? the dedicated app buttons are nice, but this means that I can only switch between certain apps.
2. Is there a way to change the behavior for the buttons? There is no "messaging" app in honeycomb. I would instead like this to map to gchat
3. Where are keyboard shortcuts in the gmail app? I want to be able to archive, reply, and forward by hitting y, r, and f.
4. in fact why do the arrow keys not do what I expect them to in gmail? They jump between links in the content of the email. I want them to be able to let me hop between emails not only within the current one. Perhaps this would be solved by keyboard shortcuts of j and k.
5. Why hasn't anyone made a decent office/productivity app yet? Is this that difficult? Is there a way to force my browser to not use the mobile version of google docs?
6. I hate to say it, but I miss blur. Only for the fact that motorola understands how to integrate with exchange well.
Blur can download attachments, reply to email, manage calendar invites, look up in the GAL, etc much much better than the crap support that google gives out of the box. And before anyone asks, TouchDown for Tablets has issues in honeycomb and does not work for me.
That being said, these are all minor software tweaks. I love the device and really hope that moto/google can address these issues.
If anyone has any known workarounds or solutions please let me know as well.
I don't have my Xoom (yet) and I don't have a keyboard. But I do have an OG Droid. And you can setup your shortcuts for it by going into Settings->Applications->Quick Launch. You might check to see if that option is there for the Xoom.
Android apps do not have keyboard shortcuts, period. The onscreen keyboard isn't meant for that and it's not designed to be used with an external keyboard (primarily).
Dang! While I was typing my thread someone else had apparently a similar question... could one of the admins/moderators please merge my thread with this??!!? Thanks!
Bauxite said:
Android apps do not have keyboard shortcuts, period. The onscreen keyboard isn't meant for that and it's not designed to be used with an external keyboard (primarily).
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android-tips.com/use-keyboard-shortcuts-to-switch-between-applications/
It does look like there are keyboard shortcuts, but some of them have been dropped in the move to honeycomb. This is odd because I would think that more people will be using external keyboards to do actual work with honeycomb.
bryz2 said:
5. Why hasn't anyone made a decent office/productivity app yet? Is this that difficult?
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Maybe the fact Honeycomb has been out all of 6 days...
You ever try writing a complex program such as that? No?! I didn't think so. Things like that take time. not even MS can pump out a copy of office in 6 days with their enormous development staff.
chaoscentral said:
Maybe the fact Honeycomb has been out all of 6 days...
You ever try writing a complex program such as that? No?! I didn't think so. Things like that take time. not even MS can pump out a copy of office in 6 days with their enormous development staff.
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lol. Quite defensive.
1. the sdk has been out for a while. Ever think about why there were apps on launch day? Those companies must have millions of people!!!
2. Since you asked, I have written much more complex apps. I'm a systems engineer. Phone apps are relatively simple.
3. Android has been out for years now. There is still not a decent office app on any flavor of android.
bryz2 said:
3. Android has been out for years now. There is still not a decent office app on any flavor of android.
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There pops the bubble
zdnet.co.uk/news/mobile-devices/2011/03/02/asuss-eee-pad-tablets-show-off-android-30-40091991/#story
hopefully if they keep releasing devices with keyboards, keyboard support and office applications will only get better.
bryz2 said:
lol. Quite defensive.
1. the sdk has been out for a while. Ever think about why there were apps on launch day? Those companies must have millions of people!!!
2. Since you asked, I have written much more complex apps. I'm a systems engineer. Phone apps are relatively simple.
3. Android has been out for years now. There is still not a decent office app on any flavor of android.
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The API was finalized two days before the Xoom was released. Also the SDK is completely unusable without a Xoom to test on, so if a developer didn't have one there was almost no way they could start developing it before it came out unless google gave them a pre-production unit. This is why there are so few xoom apps right now, you could not develop for honeycomb without one unless you were okay with the emulator going .001 frames per second.
Google Suggests Google Docs. I think its very good considering it is web based.
We use it in our organization, publishing live statistical information about the operation every few minutes to shared spreadsheets, from which our users can interact.
Google Docs users can open, edit, share spreadsheets, Txt Docs with formating, and now Power Point without any issues from Android Devices, Apple, and any other web device.
I think Quick Office is also good for a small screen, and it has been out for years.
Or, Email moves docs around very nicely as well.
But in the end, Android is not Ubuntu. Andriod is not MacOS. Android is not Windows
If you would like to create complex documents, pick up a laptop. I hear they are available, and portable.
youngproguru said:
Google Suggests Google Docs. I think its very good considering it is web based.
We use it in our organization, publishing live statistical information about the operation every few minutes to shared spreadsheets, from which our users can interact.
Google Docs users can open, edit, share spreadsheets, Txt Docs with formating, and now Power Point without any issues from Android Devices, Apple, and any other web device.
I think Quick Office is also good for a small screen, and it has been out for years.
Or, Email moves docs around very nicely as well.
But in the end, Android is not Ubuntu. Andriod is not MacOS. Android is not Windows
If you would like to create complex documents, pick up a laptop. I hear they are available, and portable.
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Click to collapse
Exactly why I want a Google Documents app for Android tablets, since Google Documents doesn't load well in our browsers.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
First off,
Congrats GOOG, looks like we have a great (and affordable) tablet to play with! Some of the issues like missing SD, HDMI (has this been confirmed?) are really no big deal for me, 16GIG is huge, cheap storage is really spoiling us
Second,
I haven't used an Android product yet (this will be my first), moved from my amazing Motorola E6 (it was Linux/EZX based, a rooted device ran most linux ported apps for EZX, xmms baby) to the slick Nokia E71, and to Apple (currently on 4S). I have always known that Android is the way, but didn't move (too many choices in hardware?)
Ques 1) Will all Android market place apps work on the Nexus Tablet? I have seen some power apps (incredibly we have Total Commander port for android, Christian rocks, waiting for Alex to release DC port now)
Ques 2) How well do android spread sheet applications work on Tablets? Has anyone really stress tested complex excel / open office functions on Tablets? How will a spreadsheet feel on a 7 inch? Can I open Spreadsheets from email, edit, save a copy and send back on the fly?
Ques 3) Do you guys login in to remote VNC sessions using your tablet? What has been your experience on Android tablets? Is it smooth? My wife uses an iPad, and we use that to remote control a laptop connected to our LCD, I hate the experience
Ques 4) I intend to use this tablet for a lot of reading (black background, grey text), will Nexus 7 have any application that could render PDF text having unicode UTF-8 fonts + ability to reflow the text so that it fits the page width? I haven't seen any such application in the Apple iOS space, but incredibly Adobe did this on Symbian (UTF-8 with text reflow).
Quest 5) How do Android tablets fair in terms of productivity tools? (PIM, Task Management, Email, Reminders)
... I actually have a bunch of more questions, but I guess I will have to hold until we get more reviews of the Nexus 7.
Oops... I didn't realize my Sony T1 reader is an Android device. So this makes Nexus 7 my second, my bad.
Besides, *bump*
hashibahoohaa said:
First off,
Ques 2) How well do android spread sheet applications work on Tablets? Has anyone really stress tested complex excel / open office functions on Tablets? How will a spreadsheet feel on a 7 inch? Can I open Spreadsheets from email, edit, save a copy and send back on the fly?
Ques 3) Do you guys login in to remote VNC sessions using your tablet? What has been your experience on Android tablets? Is it smooth? My wife uses an iPad, and we use that to remote control a laptop connected to our LCD, I hate the experience
Quest 5) How do Android tablets fair in terms of productivity tools? (PIM, Task Management, Email, Reminders)
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2) In my experience the basic excel functions work (sum, avg, etc.) I have had trouble with some of the more technical ones, and IIf statements do not work at all.
3) If you are talking about remote desktop...it still sucks.
5) I like android for productivity there are lots of apps and widgets, and they claim there is even newer and better stuff in 4.1 that this tablet will take advantage of.
Welcome to Android! Unfortunately I'm new to the tablet space, but I can answer your first question.
1) Android apps were made to be versatile. Well coded apps (key word there), will usually scale correctly according to what screen size you have. So a dev who makes a good phone app, should have it scale to a tablet screen.
Unfortunately, the lack of Android tablet success has led to a lack of "tablet specific" layouts for apps. So tablet users tend to have blown up versions of phone apps instead of UI's that take advantage of the extra real estate. But I think the success of the Nexus 7 might change a few developers minds.....
Edit- So just to clarify, most market apps will work on both phones and tablets. Unfortunately the wide variety of devices out there means you are much more likely to get occasional compatibility issues. Just a sacrifice you have to make for all the choice Android offers.
StyleNSkillz said:
2) In my experience the basic excel functions work (sum, avg, etc.) I have had trouble with some of the more technical ones, and IIf statements do not work at all.
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Actually if N7 can do Google docs without the horrible text box (save / cancel) rendering for individual cell edits, I would be very comfortable. Google docs is fully portable with my Open Office (Libre Office) sheets.
3) If you are talking about remote desktop...it still sucks.
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Nope, VNC as in running a TighVNC server on Windows/Linux and accessing it using a VNC client from the tablet. I am worried now, with my wife's iPad, I at-least get real estate to vent my frustration on, with 7 inch I may need a wall next to me (to bang my head on)
5) I like android for productivity there are lots of apps and widgets, and they claim there is even newer and better stuff in 4.1 that this tablet will take advantage of.
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Can you please name a few of tablets?
Nospin said:
Welcome to Android!
Edit- So just to clarify, most market apps will work on both phones and tablets. Unfortunately the wide variety of devices out there means you are much more likely to get occasional compatibility issues. Just a sacrifice you have to make for all the choice Android offers.
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Thanks mate - I think 4s is my last apple device, I am moving.
But too many hardware options with Android - none perfect, I wonder why GOOG bought Motorola Mobility
hashibahoohaa said:
First off,
Ques 1) Will all Android market place apps work on the Nexus Tablet? I have seen some power apps (incredibly we have Total Commander port for android, Christian rocks, waiting for Alex to release DC port now)
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I took the Samsung Tab for a spin yesterday, not bad at all (the slate with all those ports missing in N7 making users drool over it, it's nice. I installed a couple of applications from the market (TC for one), very smooth indeed. Thanks for confirming this. I hope I will need very little applications besides the stock applications on the tablet.
Ques 2) How well do android spread sheet applications work on Tablets? Has anyone really stress tested complex excel / open office functions on Tablets? How will a spreadsheet feel on a 7 inch? Can I open Spreadsheets from email, edit, save a copy and send back on the fly?
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I tried this as well yesterday on the Samsung tab - I tried the Acer 7 tab as well, but I think it was a old android version (HC). Polaris Office Spreadsheet may fit my needs - but really need to spend an hour or 2 to really know if it gets the job done.
Ques 4) I intend to use this tablet for a lot of reading (black background, grey text), will Nexus 7 have any application that could render PDF text having unicode UTF-8 fonts + ability to reflow the text so that it fits the page width? I haven't seen any such application in the Apple iOS space, but incredibly Adobe did this on Symbian (UTF-8 with text reflow).
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If anybody has used a PDF reader which does UTF8 + text re-flow + font adjust, please let me know - this would be killer feature for me if it works.
Quest 5) How do Android tablets fair in terms of productivity tools? (PIM, Task Management, Email, Reminders)
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Looks like K9 could be my email solution - has anybody ported mutt to android yet?