Related
Ok I had gotten board with the lack of wifi and decent web browser on the Treo 650 that I decided to make the move to the 8125. I knew about the speed difference and some of the other issues discussed in these forums because I researched the device for months before making the move. Therefore I wont say much about that. Unfortunately I have a few issues that I can't seem to find answers for in this forum and I was hoping other users out there could help.
1. Is there any way of making the navigation pad useful? I cant access anything on the taskbar and it would be great if I could. I installed magic button so I can close apps and switch back to home when I want. Furthermore there is almost no documentation on how to use the nav pad. All application instructions say tap the icon. It's very convenient to have one handed use. for example i have yet to figure out how to get back to the location bar in Pocket IE so I can enter a url without having to tap the screen.
2. Is it common that some applications just freak out when you switch to landscape mode (scroll bars not working and such)?
3. As mentioned I installed magic button but is there an application that will pop up a list of running tasks so I can switch between them easily with the navigation pad.
4. Backup. I may be very wrong on this but I fear that active sync does not actually backup my entire device like palm does. Could someone clear this up and if I'm correct is there a way for active sync to do this. I have more programs on this device than what is on my add/remove prog screen.
5. Notification reminders. I see a feature to have the led for a period of time but it would be nicer if it could be set to play its sound also. Like the pagers of old.
6. Notification of lost service. This phone never tells me I have no cell service. Last thing I want is battery draining searching or worse assuming I have service and miss all calls.
If anyone could provide some info on the above it would be a great help. i have already found many other programs that make up for the lacking features. Below is a list of what I have installed please make any suggestions you think would be helpful.
1. AnthaVPN - easiest and fastest to install
2. TN520 by mochasoft
3. Pocket Putty SSH client
4. Eyes On Call - Callfilter like program with many features still limited but the developer is very quick in implementing suggestions.
5. Info sharp - same developer as above but this provides sms capabilities that are very impressive. He almost has chat style sms with the way this program works.
6. OMAPclocker - for clocking to 220. I actually see the difference.
7. IM+ - Sametime/AOL instant messenger client.
8. Info apps I have Metro, Ereader, Bdicty, VadeMecum
9. TCPMP
10. Registry Wizard
11. Calc98 - the built in calc app is a joke.
12. Xpressmail - dont care what anyone says this app does what it says it will do. Pushes email to your phone.
Thank You
- Richard
So I bought my first non-WM smartphone. Below is documentation of my quest to replace, and surpass, the experience I was used to with my Touch Diamond 2 running Windows Mobile 6.5. I am what you would probably call a windows mobile 'power user'. I've been averaging about one new WM phone every 6 months since 2005, most of them HTC. But I always keep up on what the other platforms are doing. This is just the first time I've taken the leap, and I quickly became aware of what new doors Android opened for me in just the first few hours of using the Nexus One. The OS is nice, but like most people, it really comes down to the apps for me.
I was initially thinking I'd do a big blog review, but I've run out of motivation. There's plenty of info on the Nexus One hardware and Android out there, so I don't need to rehash that stuff. What I haven't seen a lot of, though, is detailed accounts of people switching and what exactly they found.
There remains a couple major things missing from Android. The lack of an OCS client is probably the biggest one for me professionally, but since it's a Microsoft product, I don't see that changing any time soon. That and the lack of xvid playback will keep me carrying around my TD2 as backup for the foreseeable future. But other than that, I'm extremely happy and will definitely be sticking with the Nexus for a while. The next post will be a comprehensive list of (practically) every app I've installed, what they do for me, and how they compare to their WM counterparts (if there are any).
On to the apps...
Android Apps I've installed and believe I will continue to use.
This is a bit of a brain dump, so I apologize for not editing more thoroughly. Hopefully it will be useful to some, and feel free to suggest other apps you think I should try.
Advanced Task Killer - List of running apps that allows you to easily kill unwanted tasks. Nice to have for an OS that allows background apps, but I don't actually notice it slowing down, it seems to manage memory and close apps as needed.
Aldiko (replacing mobiReader, much better) - eReader with nice UI and quick access to several libraries of free books. Found Doctorow's books right away.
Amazon store - really just easier than using the web browser, but it also does barcode scanning and some other useful stuff.
BeamReader (replacing Adobe's wm reader) - rarely needed, but have to be able to see pdfs on the go sometimes
Beelicious - direct (cached) access to my delicious bookmarks. UI could be better and it's a bit of a pain to wade through them all, but it's useful.
BeyondPod (replacing YomoMedia, HUGE improvement) - It took me years to find a podcast downloader for WM that worked at all, but beyondpod is amazing. The UI is superb and inuitive. The customization is great. I have it setup to download only at night while charging. It remembers my place in podcasts and creates 'smart playlists' to make it easier to start listening. It also integrates with google reader, which is hugely useful because I can add new podcasts I'd like to listen to anywhere from google reader and then import then very quickly into beyondpod later. Also worth noting is the homescreen widget, which gives me access to basic controls and status from my home screen, no need to always navigate back into the app.
Browser (replacing Opera mobile) - Really there's not much difference here. Neither android nor WM have flash or silverlight support yet (although you can sort of get it on WM through skyfire, but that's not performant enough to be an everyday thing). Usability is about the same, but since multitouch zoom isn't enabled on nexus yet (though the hardware can technically support it), you have to use the zoom in/out buttons. This isn't as nice as zooming on the TD2 (zoom bar) or the HD2 (multitouch). Android does links to outside applications better though. It recognizes when you are browsing to a youtube video or RSS feed and will prompt correctly.
Cab4me - Nice little app for finding nearby cab companies making it very easy to see which is rated best, has cars available, and place the call. Not a must-have, but it's one of the little things.
Camera - very fast, 5mp (same as on hd2 and td2 wm phones), the LED flash is certainly better than nothing. Geotagging is default.
Car Home - this is Google's navigation 'car mode'. I think is this very cool, but honestly I won't end up using it much because I have navigation built into my car.
Carr Matey - dedicated app for recording car location so you can find it again. Another little nice thing I didn't have before. Android is just so much better at doing location-aware apps right now.
Documents to Go (replacing ms office mobile) - I'm using the lite version, which does not allow editing, but I have just never had the need to edit office docs on my phone. Sometimes I get one in an email and want to read it though, and this looks to do that fine. I'm happy.
Evernote (replacing Evernote) - I'm using this more and more as a dumping ground for everything that's not in email but I want to remember. This is what I use anytime I want to take a quick note (audio or text), or take a picture of a wine bottle or business card for later reference. It syncs with the cloud immediately and I can search that from anywhere.
Flashlight - not a big deal, but nice to have.
flickr droid (replacing shozu) - i like to have an easy way to upload a picture to flickr, this gives me that. I really like how android allows it to integrate with the normal gallery app. So after I take a picture I just have to view it, select 'share', and then select flickr droid (or other things like email, twitter, etc). It's more centralized than WM.
Flip2Silent and Vibrate During Meeting (replacing WM + HTC ringer management) - The ringer management on android is lacking as compared to WM. I used to be able to have my phone automatically go to vibrate during meetings, and silence the ringer after I pick up the phone (so it doesn't continue to be loud and annoying while I'm deciding whether to answer), AND there was a pocket mode to switch to vibrate and louder ring when the phone detected it was in a pocket. Vibrate During Meeting gives me back the meeting function, but it only works with the google calendar, not the exchange touchdown calendar in which all my actual meetings are stored. My work-around is to sync my exchange calendar with google via desktop outlook, but this doesn't keep it updated unless I have a desktop logged in. The good news is that the developer of this app says he'll look into touchdown. Flip2Silent gives me the option to just lay the phone screen-side-down to mute the ringer/vibrate functions. This will work while a call is coming in and I want to ignore it.
Foursquare - App for checking into various locations. It's treated like a game, you get points, but also get to see where your friends are and if they happen to be near you. Plus people leave tips for places.
g-backup and mybackup (replacing myphone on wm) - MS's myphone app on wm will automatically backup all user data (sms, mms, pictures, video, docs, etc) to the cloud every night. It can also restore these for when you get a new phone or hard-reset your current phone. I got used to having this. All my email and contacts are in exchange or the cloud anyway, but I don't want to lose these other things. MyPhone is also nice because all that data is accessible via the web. g-backup is cool because it will upload all this stuff to gmail, so you have it there, but it can't restore anything. MyBackup will backup and restore most things, but not pictures/video. So I'm using them both, but I'd like a more comprehensive solution.
Gallery (replacing HTC photo gallery) - The nexus gallery is implemented in 3d and is pretty cool, but ultimately it works about as well as the HTC version (which is also flashy). They need to add multi-touch zooming.
GCDroid (replacing gcz) - This is my geocaching app, but only until the official geocaching.com android app comes out (which is soon and it will be cool if their iphone app is any indication). Even though there isn't an official app for wm, the community created apps were pretty good. GCDroid is barely usable, but overall this category will be an upgrade over wm soon.
Glympse (replacing Glympse) - Something I'll rarely use, but it's cool when it applies. You can send a link to anyone that will allow them to track you via a webbrowser for x-minutes. So if you say you're on your way, they can actually see how far along you are.
Gmail (replacing hotmail) - both MS and Google have their email services integrated tightly with their mobile os. I used to forward all my gmail to hotmail so I could easily get it on my phone, so now I just flipped it. I like gmail well enough, and there are certainly features that are ahead of hotmail. I'm just happy to happy to have my personal email pushed to my phone.
Google maps (replacing google maps and bing) - This is definitely better than on WM, but ultimately it does the same stuff. It's smoother and a little easier to navigate (except, again, zooming is more difficult).
Meebo IM - nice to have an app that can log into ICQ, MSN, and GTalk all at once. Likely will rarely use it.
Messaging (replacing txt message HTC app) - this seems to be just what you'd expect. But at least it's very fast and predictable, unlike the HTC app which is sometimes laggy as hell.
Flixter Movies (replacing bing) - MS's bing app was good for finding local theaters and showtimes, this one does it with a bit more flash and some awesome additional features that i just found. It shows the rottentomatoes rating along with every movies. Plus, it has netflix integration, so it checks whether any movie is in my queue and lets me add it while browsing. It also has a list of recent dvd releases, which is great with the netflix thing. It also essentially serves as a mobile imdb. Very impressive.
Mother TED - dedicated app for watching TED talks. It seems ok but not great.
Music (replacing HTC media player) - Nothing special here. I don't know that I'll even use it much since i mostly listen to pandora or podcasts.
OpenTable - for the rare occasions when I make reservations (especially last minute) this will make it easy to find a place with an opening.
Pandora (NOT ON WM) - this is almost a reason to switch by itself. I hate that this isn't on wm yet. Very nicely implemented on android because it has a homescreen widget. I get all the basic controls without even having to go into the app, and I can use other apps while it plays in the background. Sound quality is great too.
Dialer - The android dialer is pretty basic, but it seems to get the job done. At least you can add a pause (with a comma) so that dialing conference numbers is somewhat doable (but still WAY harder than it should be, they don't do any smart parsing in meeting invites). This is still hard on WM though too.
PhoneFlicks (replacing official netflix wm app) - This is barely a replacement. Netflix's own app was better, this one is slower and harder to use, but at least I can do basic queue management from my phone, which is really nice sometimes.
SeattleBusBot - This is SO cool, and something I've wanted but couldn't find on wm. Seattle has the gps info of its buses available publicly, but their website is basically unusable on a phone (even on a desktop). This app will tell you exactly when a given bus is going to arrive, not just when it's scheduled.
Seesmic (replacing m.twitter.com on wm) - really good mobile twitter app. There are plenty of wm twitter apps, and HTC even builds one into the os now, but they tended to be slower. I think the HD2 is probably just as good as seesmic.
ShopSavvy - barcode scanning that tells you the closest places to get the given product and for how much. Haven't had a chance to see if this turns out to actually be useful, but I like the concept and test scans in the house have been accurate (which kinda surprises me because I had heard that phone barcode scanning doesn't work, but maybe the 5mp camera and snapdragon is making it more pratical).
TorrentFu (replacing starting torrents via Live mesh mobile) - This is a major upgrade (and rejected from itunes if I remember correctly). I finally switched to uTorrent on my server so I could use this. It uses the utorrent webui to connect, but exposes all the functionality like a local app. You can see progress, search for and start new torrents, and pause/resume. Very cool.
TripIt (replacing tripcase kinda) - I've only started experimenting with these two services, and i don't travel as much as I used to, but they are pretty good at what they do. Just forward your reservation emails and they build up a comprehensive itinerary and keep you updated. having a native app makes using these that much easier. Tripcase is on wm, tripit (which seems to be the better service) is on android.
tv.com - streaming tv from cbs, showtime, and some others. Haven't used this much, but always nice to have some free content.
Google Voice - At first I was skeptical about this because I don't have a real need to create a central phone number that rings all my phones, which was what i thought this service was for. Turns out you don't have to use that feature, and they also provide visual voicemail on android plus they send you transcriptions of the messages to your phone. so you can see who left messages and what they said (approximately) without even listening. So I'm definitely appreciating this feature.
Wapedia - native version of wikipedia. Nice and quick. why not?
y5 - Battery - This app is genius in its simplicity and value. It simply keeps track of where you are when you enable wifi, and remembers that going forward so it can automatically re-enable it when you come back to the same place. The rest of the time, it disables wifi to save battery. The end result here is that I never have to remember to turn wifi on or off when i come home or leave the house.
youtube (replacing youtube) - works well. nothing special to report except google's browser seems to be better at realizing when it should forward you to the youtube player.
yxflash (failing to replace coreplayer) - The only android app that claims to do xvid/divx decoding. I tried it on an xvid torrent that wm's coreplayer had no trouble with and it choked pretty hard. It played, but with extremely jittery video and slow sound. Not usable yet, but at least i know I might get something soon.
Touchdown (replacing exchange activesync on wm) - Saved the most important (and expensive @$22) for last. Without this app I wouldn't be able to sync my exchange data (contacts, email, calendar, tasks) with my phone because Android doesn't support all the required security features by default. (our company, like many these days, will not sync data with a platform that doesn't allow them to force the use of encryption, pin lock, and remote wipe) Beyond that, without the recently added feature of allowing me to flag emails for followup, I would not be able to switch to android because this workflow is too important to my everyday life.
Explanation: I check email on my phone often, and if I can respond then and there, I do, but if I can’t and need to follow up for any reason, I flag it. This creates a task in outlook which I will see the next time at my desk, so i KNOW i won't forget about it.
But there is an additional, more subtle, benefit at play here. And honestly, it's a little unfair to count it, but it makes such a huge difference in my enjoyment of my phone that I can't ignore it. I'm speaking about how the previously mentioned pin lock for exchange only applies (on android) to the touchdown app. I am not required to set a pin to unlock the phone itself. Ever since they turned on that requirement I've been punching in a 4 digit pin every damn time I wanted to glance at my phone, check the time, or even change the stupid volume! Now I'm finally free of that because google didn't bother to properly build in exchange support at the OS level. NICE! seriously though, this saves me so much annoyance it was almost worth the $530 by itself.
For a true windows power-user, it's worth shelling out the <$10 for Remote RDP. It works incredibly well, even when connecting to my Windows 7 PC from 3G across town (or presumably, the world).
The ability to USE MY HOME PC from ANYWHERE WITH NET ACCESS...
Absolutely incredible for a phone..
EDIT: my home net speed is pretty quick, which owes to fast remote access. Wifi will always be fast, though, and that's what this app is really designed for.
Good recommendation. Just downloaded the Remote RDP demo. Seems to work well.
Thank you for the run down... I just made the switch myself and a number of the apps you mentioned helped me fill some of my void from WM. I'm still a little pissed about the exchange issues but the real truth is any company I work for issues me a blackberry and doesn't allow other devices to connect to thier servers. I worked for one midsized company once that let me and that was the only time I was completely in love with my WM device. Since my personal email is through gmail the nexus one is really amazing as my personal phone.
Good Stuff! I'm in the same boat WM to Android and no turning back I'll check out some of the apps u listed...
One thing I'm looking for is a widget with power/memory/storage/sd gauges.
Always had this on the wm home for reference & cool stats!
If you geocache then GeoBeagle is the other main geocaching app. I don't cache much any more, but I have tried GeoBeagle and liked it, though I can't compare it to GCDroid...
Wanted to say thanks for the excellent app list. Touchdown is awesome. A way for me to connect to work without merging my exchange contacts with the rest of my phone. Now thats a win!
@Seraph321 - want to add my thanks for your app info. i'll be getting an N1 soon and knowing there are options to some of my "must haves" apps/features/functionality (e.g., Exchange) will help shorten my learning curve. i'm not going to abandon WM because it will continue to serve as my work phone. the N1 will be my after work/personal phone until i'm comfortable tweaking Android. that's my plan, but once i have the N1 my plan may change!
Great write up, and welcome to Android
A few suggestions
Text Messaging
The two heavyweights are Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS. Both are considerably better than the default SMS app, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
Browser
Dolphin Browser is hands down the best browser on Android right now. Multi-touch zooming, delicious integration, tabs, themes, and much more.
Flashlight
Do a market search for Nexus One Torch. It utilizes the LED from the camera flash to use as a flashlight. Very bright.
Ringer Management
Locale manages your phone based off time and location. Never used it myself, but heard good things, and I believe it was and Android Developers Challenge winner or something.
Backup
I'm simple and only need to backup text messages (most everything else is stored via SD card or synced with Google anyway). I use SMS Backup to backup my texts to Gmail, and it works fantastic. Uploads directly to my mail account, archives the texts, puts them in threads according to contact, tags them, and marks them as read. I can then easily search my text conversations from my phone or desktop browser via Gmail, and don't have to worry about deleting conversations from my phone and losing something. I've never used g-backup, so it may have this function already.
Twitter
I've tried a couple Twitter apps (not Seismic, though I'll be trying that next) and have landed on Swift, which currently is the fastest, and the best looking Twitter app I've used. I'm not a giant twitter user, so I don't know if it supports all the features any other apps might, but it works great for me, and would recommend it.
That's all for now. I don't have my phone next to me or I'd give it a quick run through and suggest something you might be missing, but I'll have to do that another time.
As for getting multi-touch support in google maps, the browser, and gallery... just wait, it's been hacked in for the G1/MT3G, it will certainly be hacked in for the Nexus One.
I'm still up in the air between ASTRO File Manager and Linda File Manager, but a file manager is an important addition to your tools, if you plan on keeping a lot of documents/files on board. Additionally, I know at least Linda has the DownloadCrutch functionality, associating itself with every filetype so that the browser will allow you to download such. To me, this last bit is essential.
Great stuff, I think a lot of people will be going from WM to Nexus because MS have failed to deliver for so long & there is now a great alternative with an OS that can be modded and a really cool handset.
So far I am happy to leave the N1 standard (not rooted) and play with apps - it is a real joy to have so many available & a single source for them.
Never going back !
+1 for Dolphin Browser... definitely a big step up over the default browser IMHO
SpyderMS said:
Great write up, and welcome to Android
A few suggestions
Text Messaging
The two heavyweights are Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS. Both are considerably better than the default SMS app, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
bofslime said:
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tend to agree though why doesnt the icon to the app on my home screen tell me how many unread SMS there are?
The Jones said:
I tend to agree though why doesnt the icon to the app on my home screen tell me how many unread SMS there are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SMS Count
ok, at work with nothing to do, so I browsed through my phone, and here's a couple Apps you may be interested in. Some of these are useful, some are just kind of cool
AudioManager Widget
Nice little app that lets you adjust all your volume levels easily and quickly.
AppControl - Full Version
Best app manager I've used. Really fast, nice interface, and lots of options.
Barcode Scanner
Barcode scanning from the phone is fantastic. It's very pronounced in the Android community as well. You'll see barcodes not only on these forums, but on App websites like AndroLib.com, which let you scan the barcode, and instantly be linked to a website or Android Market page. It's not only useful on the Nexus One's 5mp camera and 1GHz processor either. Worked great on my G1.
Google Goggles
Take a picture of just about anything, and Google will search for relevant results.
Google Sky Map
Virtual Planetarium on your phone.
Layar Reality Browser 3.0
Augmented Reality browser. Displays information about objects in front of you overlayed on the camera display.
Pkt Auctions for eBay
If you use eBay at all, this is a great companion tool.
Shazam
Lets you identify music being played around you by letting your phone listen to and analyze it.
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
handcent settings -> conversation style.
handcent has a ton of settings options, including different settings for individual contacts (conversation style, font, notification tone, etc)
Thanks for all the suggestions. I've already spent too much work time today finding and installing the ones I like.
I don't actually do THAT much texting, so I'm sticking with the stock sms app for now, but I did install sms popup and set my girlfriend to popup. That's convenient.
Someone mentioned SMS backup, and yes, g-backup does the same thing only for more data, but they both need a scheduling option.
I see the nexus one torch app requires rooted access. I'm no stranger to hacking my gadgets, but this app (plus tethering, and maybe installing to the sd card) are the only things I've seen so far that have me interested in doing it. Can anyone provide some examples of why they consider rooting a must?
You mentioned Wi-Fi tethering already, but that reason alone is a pretty big reason. You may also want to theme your phone. Any kind of advancements that developers like Cyanogen come out with will require root as well. Cyanogen is known for pushing the envelope, helping to increase speed, and overall functionality of the G1, and other devices; not to mention you will get features from new versions of Android faster than those without root. I'm sure there are other reasons to, these are just off the top of my head. A lot of people are waiting until someone finds out how to reverse the bootloader unlocking process before they root, in order to preserve their warranty, and that's certainly a good idea if you don't have a lot of use for root at the moment. I did it, like most people that did, just because I can.
I'll make sure to watch the Cyanogen stuff closely. I never followed the G1 enhancements, so I guess I don't know what to expect. Sounds like it's likely I'll do it at some point though.
Is it easy to get all your apps, especially the ones that you paid for, back on your phone after rooting? Does the marketplace just remember it all and let you re-download?
I should just search for these answers.
I think these need to be addressed as soon as possible in the next software update:
Gapless Audio Playback
Individual Volume Controls (Ringer, Music, Phone, Speakerphone, Games)
Showing MAC Address in Settings
DLNA Support - Playback and Server
Audio Enhancement Settings (equalizer, SRS WoW, etc.)
Better SkyDrive Support (all file types)
File Browser/USB mode
...
*An actual theme changer not just colors
*Able to change the button functions, Like say the camera button to only take pictures and not turn on the camera
*Task manager
*Like to hide the album art on the zune player and just use the zune artist background.
*Windows Media Remote control
*More control over the WiFi functions
*Bluetooth audio play back for video
*Fix the tile layout on the phone bottom tiles are cut off.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
Video sharing! Via MMS
Also, all possible screens should also work in Landscape rotation
Wider keyboard in landscape rotation
Basics
Ability to connect to hidden wifi networks
vcard support (especially with no cut & paste - there's no even remotely convenient way to send contact info to other contacts)
Bing results (local) should have an "add to contacts" option
BTW - this thread should be in the WP7 General forum...
Save camera settings!! This is annoying
When you start typing in the search box in maps, it should bring up a list of suggestions from your address book.
Ahh yes I just notice no Bing local for us, but for anyother phone out there it works.. What is up with microsoft's apps being junk for their own platorm. I tried using Microsoft Tag and it's garbage... Triple P's
ITDRAGON said:
Ahh yes I just notice no Bing local for us, but for anyother phone out there it works.. What is up with microsoft's apps being junk for their own platorm. I tried using Microsoft Tag and it's garbage... Triple P's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bing local works well for me. Better results than google maps... I understand this is not the case outside the US, however...
And PLEASE ADD SOME KIND OF FILTER TO THE MARKETPLACE!!
I swear if I see one more fart app I am going to go nuts! I understand that the idea is to get the marketplace upp to a high number of apps in a short amount of time, to show that the Marketplace is growing faster than the Android Marketplace did, but it cheapens the whole experience when half of the apps are just douchebaggery (I'm looking at you "I'm Rich" app, $499.99...please)
Also, please sync SkyDrive documents with the phone - completely. If I'm working on a OneNote notebook, why can't I see it on the phone?
How about watching videos via 3G in high quality instead of it being so grainy! Funny that the Captivate, which is almost identical to Focus offers that option. Must be a Windows platform downfall... Still Focus > Captivate in my opinion!
So im finally there, i have to switch to Android. I was using a windows mobile device before, so i probably expect a lot of functionality wich Android might not offer. But there are a lot of questions left i hope some of you can answer me:
General usage:
- is it possible to remove that "slide to unlock" thingy, i dont see its use, the phone has one button to toggle it that wont get pushed in my pocket
- battery symbol, i see a lot of people having an additional battery symbol with the exact percentage of the remaining power, i think thats bull****, i dont need 2 battery symbols, just one thats working the right way, is it hard to change the battery symbol in the noticication bar?
- can i bind the hardware keys, for example long press of a button starts the recording for voice control, short press opens a taskmanager
- is the copy and paste working 100% and is avaiable in all programs?
- can i have the device in USB mass storage as standard setting (not asking everytime i connect it)?
- can i have a shortcut that would check all my registred mail accounts when i click it (no automatic checking, i decide when the device connects to the internet)?
- can i create shortcuts to html, doc or excel files?
- can i use java programs in android?
- is there a program that would display a symbol for calls, sms and emails that would change their apperance when i have a missed call, new message or mail?
- is it possible to active bluethooth or wlan by shortcut or voice command?
- are there USB host drivers so i could connect USB mass storage devices?
Applications needed:
- i would like a simple task and program manager, to switch between them and close them if i want to, i thing it would be best suited in the drop down bar (since its there..why not use it)?
- SMS, call time and data counter for incoming and outgoing, is there something like that? I suppose i could put it as widget on one of the homescreens
- backup software for settings, SMS messages, emails and installed programs and their settings, is there something like that, are there backup programs that work after updating to a newer Android version?
- my device will have a Snapdragon CPU, what about a CPU speed manger that underclocks when in standby and has profiles for programs so i could run it at half speed in general but for some specific programs get the full CPU power?
- TMC data for navigation: i think there is no such thing yet, right?
- a decent file explorer with all features expected from a good explorer (it should be able to create shortcuts for html, word or any other file that the phones software can handle)
- a program that insertes local holidays into my calender, with support for birthdays wich are not in my contacts
- a good serious photoeditor: with serious i mean i dont need any effects bull**** wich comes with most camera applications, i need the ability to open large files, crop them, maybe even display tifs with layers, something like a pocket version of Photoshop
- videoplayer is there something like VLC is for windows PCs and CorePlayer is for windowsmobile? A player thats is capable of playing everything
applications i allready found and will probably use:
- as office solution i suppose i can use the programs from Softmaker, dont know if there are android drivers for my BT Freedom Keyboard
- multimessenger with MSN, ICQ, Jabber, Facebook: maybe palringo, at least it was good on windows mobile
- navigation: i think there is TomTom and Igo
- calendar that can display a whole month with visible icons for appointments: should work with pocket informant, because it does on windows
Dumb questions?
General usage:
- is it possible to remove that "slide to unlock" thingy, i dont see its use, the phone has one button to toggle it that wont get pushed in my pocket
I believe this is only possible if you have root
- battery symbol, i see a lot of people having an additional battery symbol with the exact percentage of the remaining power, i think thats bull****, i dont need 2 battery symbols, just one thats working the right way, is it hard to change the battery symbol in the noticication bar?
again, I believe you need root
- can i bind the hardware keys, for example long press of a button starts the recording for voice control, short press opens a taskmanager
pretty sure you can do things like this with root
- is the copy and paste working 100% and is avaiable in all programs?
it's always seemed fine to me.. just try it out for yourself.
- can i have the device in USB mass storage as standard setting (not asking everytime i connect it)?
I don't know of any way to do this.
- can i have a shortcut that would check all my registred mail accounts when i click it (no automatic checking, i decide when the device connects to the internet)?
go to settings-> accounts & sync. then click on the account and disable "sync gmail". Then, when you open up gmail, you can manually refresh.
- can i create shortcuts to html, doc or excel files?
I don't think so.
- can i use java programs in android?
I believe htc sense phones can but it is not included in AOSP
- is there a program that would display a symbol for calls, sms and emails that would change their apperance when i have a missed call, new message or mail?
there's lots on the market. Personally, I use launcher pro (homescreen replacement) that includes this by default. I highly recommend it.
- is it possible to active bluethooth or wlan by shortcut or voice command?
have you tried the power control widget?
- are there USB host drivers so i could connect USB mass storage devices?
It's certainly possible but it might require a custom kernel or something. I'm not sure. It depends on your hardware as well though. Many/most android phones cannot output power through their usb port, which makes this impossible. USB drives need power.
Applications needed:
- i would like a simple task and program manager, to switch between them and close them if i want to, i thing it would be best suited in the drop down bar (since its there..why not use it)?
task managers really shouldn't be necessary. android can handle it just fine itself. I do have one just in case. I like "Advanced Task Manager". As for switching between apps, just long press the home button. if it's not there, just open it from the app drawer again.
- SMS, call time and data counter for incoming and outgoing, is there something like that? I suppose i could put it as widget on one of the homescreens
phonalyzer does what you're asking for, I think.
- backup software for settings, SMS messages, emails and installed programs and their settings, is there something like that, are there backup programs that work after updating to a newer Android version?
I really like mybackup pro. However, it's impossible to backup app settings without root access. You can backup apps but not their data (progress in games for example).
- my device will have a Snapdragon CPU, what about a CPU speed manger that underclocks when in standby and has profiles for programs so i could run it at half speed in general but for some specific programs get the full CPU power?
setcpu is great. requires root.
- TMC data for navigation: i think there is no such thing yet, right?
no idea. google navigation has traffic updates of some sort.
- a decent file explorer with all features expected from a good explorer (it should be able to create shortcuts for html, word or any other file that the phones software can handle)
I use astro file manager. I don't think it can create shortcuts though. I have no idea why you would ever want this..
- a program that insertes local holidays into my calender, with support for birthdays wich are not in my contacts
google calendar can do this by default. I have no idea what you're talking about with birthdays though. Just add them to your calendar...
- a good serious photoeditor: with serious i mean i dont need any effects bull**** wich comes with most camera applications, i need the ability to open large files, crop them, maybe even display tifs with layers, something like a pocket version of Photoshop
never had an urge to do this. "Adobe Photoshop Express" might be a good place to start though.
- videoplayer is there something like VLC is for windows PCs and CorePlayer is for windowsmobile? A player thats is capable of playing everything
I don't really watch videos on my phone so I don't know.
applications i allready found and will probably use:
- as office solution i suppose i can use the programs from Softmaker, dont know if there are android drivers for my BT Freedom Keyboard
never even heard of softmaker. documents to go is supposed to be good
- multimessenger with MSN, ICQ, Jabber, Facebook: maybe palringo, at least it was good on windows mobile
I like meebo, personally.
- navigation: i think there is TomTom and Igo
I don't know why you would pay for these when you can just use google navigation for free..
- calendar that can display a whole month with visible icons for appointments: should work with pocket informant, because it does on windows
what's wrong with google calendar?
smaskell said:
General usage:
I believe this is only possible if you have root
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont care what it takes as long as its possible.
smaskell said:
- can i have the device in USB mass storage as standard setting (not asking everytime i connect it)?
I don't know of any way to do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it seriously asking everytime?
smaskell said:
- can i have a shortcut that would check all my registred mail accounts when i click it (no automatic checking, i decide when the device connects to the internet)?
go to settings-> accounts & sync. then click on the account and disable "sync gmail". Then, when you open up gmail, you can manually refresh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only gmail? I would like to check severy pop3 accounts.
Didnt know there is a taskswitcher included, alawys thought id had to go the long way via homescreen.
I will check phonalyzer out thanks.
Will also check out mybackup, even though apps come from the market and a re probably newer version than in the backup, saving settings would seem more logical.
SetCPU, thanks again.
smaskell said:
- a decent file explorer with all features expected from a good explorer (it should be able to create shortcuts for html, word or any other file that the phones software can handle)
I use astro file manager. I don't think it can create shortcuts though. I have no idea why you would ever want this..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because there are some excel and word files i often use and of course in want them fast. So shortcuts on Homescreen or where the other applications are. Speaking of that list. Is there some way to organzize it? Change the order, put some in subfolder? The way they are now it sucks.
For the birthdays i need to remember some birthdays of people that dont have phone, mail or anything. So creating a contact would be pointless. But i want to see their birthday everyyear with the info how old they get.
Will look at Adobe Photoshop Express.
smaskell said:
- TMC data for navigation: i think there is no such thing yet, right?
no idea. google navigation has traffic updates of some sort.
- navigation: i think there is TomTom and Igo
I don't know why you would pay for these when you can just use google navigation for free..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because online navigation sucks if i am out of my country and have to really pay for datatranfers.
smaskell said:
- calendar that can display a whole month with visible icons for appointments: should work with pocket informant, because it does on windows
what's wrong with google calendar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It just doenst show me what i want to see.
As far as i understand google voice command (even if it would understand anything else than english allready) decodes the spoken commands online. So when i tell it to open my excel file i would first have to wait till my phone connects to the internet. Is there any voice command software that works on the device and not in the cloud. Like voice command for windows mobile did?
i recommend the app Trapster.
I switched from WM to android not that long ago, so I kanda know where you're coming from. You do have to unmount your storage from your phone every time you want to transfer things, I usually just send things over the air and avoid plugging in. WM loved to be attached to your computer, but android would rather be connected to the internet. I think if you're running sense you can transfer stuff with HTCsync without unmounting every time, not 100% though as I flashed sense onto my N1 a couple times but never downloaded HTCsync.
I think you'll want a rom with sense on it. Sense has the 'sync all' button that you can put on your home screen to sync all of your accounts on demand. They also have a partnership with TomTom for offline navigation. There's also a nice calendar widget, and unread counts for your messages, etc. If you were using touch flo on WM, HTC have kept a lot of the nice features in sense on android.
Android isn't as friendly for key mapping as WM was. You can get onscreen toggles for most things, though. there was one rom I had on my N1 for a while, I think it was CM6, where there were toggles on the drop down menu. This made it possible to switch settings in-app, which I missed from WM. For app-switching, just long-press home to bring up your MRU list. One of the other things I miss from WM is having the battery bar that runs all the way across the top of the screen, just on the top few pixels. Only 1 rom I tried, the MIUI rom, was able to do this. It was a lot easier to mess with in WM.
Programs:
file manager - Astro
IM - IM+, nimbuzz, fring, etc. there are lots of them. im+ does skype
backup - I used SMS backup&restore for SMS, Titanium takes care of everything else.
Calendar - google calendar lets you set a repeating event for birthdays, automatically adds the holidays you tell it to.
Also, USB host is possible, but you need to use a powered USB hub to power the device you're plugging in. Doesn't seem to be another way to get power to the port. If USB host is really important, a hacked kernel and a powered port should get the job done.
I hope this helps, and don't worry. Once you've used android for a while, you'll see that it's really user-friendly. I'm sure you'll grow to love it.
Try Jorte calendar if your don't like the Goggle one.
If you get a phone that's rootable, try Root Explorer for file explorer.
________________________________
http://ron-droid.blogspot.com
Jorte isnt bad for displaying texts each day in monthview, but symbols would be better.
Never cared much for Sense, to much graphics to little information.
IM+ sounds good, all in one +Skype would be great.
What me really bothers is that USB thingy, cant it unmount in backgroud without bothering me, even winmobile was able to do that.
Another question: Would trying out a lot of apps polute my OS like it happens with windows (leftover files and registry settings after uninstalling). Or ist Anrdois perfect in this matter.
If not i guess i would have to test a lot of apps till i find the ones i like, then hard rest and make a clean install, or wont this be nessesary in Android?
From what I can tell, if you uninstall an app, everything is cleaned up with the exception of maybe a folder on your sdcsrd. And this generally only happens if the app has an optional setting that allows you to specify that the sdcard be used for backups or downloads, etc.
________________________________
http://ron-droid.blogspot.com
rigman said:
From what I can tell, if you uninstall an app, everything is cleaned up with the exception of maybe a folder on your sdcsrd. And this generally only happens if the app has an optional setting that allows you to specify that the sdcard be used for backups or downloads, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much true.
the sd card thing is really frustrating. sometimes apps add stuff to seemingly random folders on your sd card so you don't know if you can delete it or not. Apps should be forced to only create folders with the same name as the app. Also, I think you should be able to implement an "onUninstall" method or something in your app, with which you could delete all of the files that you created.
Not everyone has data...
smaskell said:
- navigation: i think there is TomTom and Igo
I don't know why you would pay for these when you can just use google navigation for free..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So with the emulator leak we have new things to look at
Namely:
- downloading maps
- Applications + settings and SMS are now able to be backed up on CLOUD (http://clip2net.com/s/29yZl)
- PIN for app purchases on store
- upgraded camera UI
- OneNote separated from Office - probably something like OneNote MX?
- IE10 has again "Find on page" option!
- Data Sense application - to measure data usage (WiFi, cellular)
- Search page is now greatly enhanced with News, In Theatres, ... (Personalized suggestions - requires Hotmail account signed in, but that doesn't work.)
- Multiple photos selection (http://clip2net.com/s/29z2y)
- More settings in Ease of access (maybe they were just US specific before that?) - text size, high contrast mode, screen magnifier throughout the system
- Ability to remap the STOP button in IE to something else - namely favs, stop/refresh or tabs
- Partial blocking of cookies (tracking cookies?)
- Lockscreen to show Bing today picture rather your own one (NEAT!)
- LOCKSCREEN TO SUPPORT CUSTOM APPLICATIONS!
- Zune Music is now called Xbox Music including reporting "what are you playing now" to Xbox
- SafeSearch settings for Bing search
- More detailed phone storage informations including buttons to move photos or music to SD card
- Native screenshots (winkey + camkey) -- thanks to wpcentral!
The list shall be updated!
Some pictures:
About screen:
Backup options:
Call:
Camera:
Data sense:
Ease of access:
Home:
IE:
Images:
Lockscreen:
Maps:
Music:
Search:
Skydrive search:
Storage:
Updates:
"Applications + settings and SMS are now able to be backed up on CLOUD"
- Only think i really need, but GREAT!
Are there any APIs that can filter calls or SMS?
Windows Phone 8 is going to be a killer OS!! I seriously can't wait to upgrade from my aging DVP!
Screen shots available here:
http://wp7.hu/2012/07/26/windows-phone-8-emulator-screenshotok-omlesztve/
Hcs66 said:
Are there any APIs that can filter calls or SMS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I highly doubt that, didn't see any api
Here's my list, what I have found so far in the .chm file:
SmsInterceptor for capturing SMS messages
SpeechSynthesizer, SpeechRecognition - sounds good
Battery class for accessing remaining power, finally!
LockScreenWallpaper - API for changing current lockscreen
VoipPhoneCall - if you want to create your own Skype clone
SaveAppointmentTask - to save appointments into calendar
App to App and App to Device Bluetooth communication
FlipTileData, CycleTileData, IconicTileData - new types of Tiles, including that 3 size tile
Second post GREATLY updated with A LOT of images. Click on them for full resolution (WVGA).
If anybody would be interested in some kind of video walkthrough - I suppose it could happen during the weekend as well?
Also it seems to run with only 256MB RAM without a page file, so hopefully we will be seeing devices like the Nokia Lumia 610 at a low price.
anything related to wifi? I really want an option to not lose wife when phone is locked
Thanks
i still don't see myself pulling away from android. i really want to though...
I want to see the lock screen in action, and I want to see if they made any changes to the toast notifications.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
hunkyn said:
anything related to wifi? I really want an option to not lose wife when phone is locked
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed it was quite irritating to lose wifi once the phone is locked....
hope wp8 will change it for the better...
Is there going to be more themes than just black and white? I know there is more accent colors
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Can't wait until I get to pirate, erm I mean purchase this magnificent operating system.
N3croman said:
Here's my list, what I have found so far in the .chm file:
SmsInterceptor for capturing SMS messages
SpeechSynthesizer, SpeechRecognition - sounds good
Battery class for accessing remaining power, finally!
LockScreenWallpaper - API for changing current lockscreen
VoipPhoneCall - if you want to create your own Skype clone
SaveAppointmentTask - to save appointments into calendar
App to App and App to Device Bluetooth communication
FlipTileData, CycleTileData, IconicTileData - new types of Tiles, including that 3 size tile
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was wondering...
is VOIPcall based on skype? or a standard like SIP?
i work in a telephony company, and i'm interested in this functionnality: i already have lot of ideas of how to use voipcall in my desktop software (switching from desktop softphone to WP8 voip automatically, adding mobility to my desktop softwares, etc...)
warenbe said:
i was wondering...
is VOIPcall based on skype? or a standard like SIP?
i work in a telephony company, and i'm interested in this functionnality: i already have lot of ideas of how to use voipcall in my desktop software (switching from desktop softphone to WP8 voip automatically, adding mobility to my desktop softwares, etc...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some registry values relating to SIP, and it has already been announced that it supports skype.
ale07 said:
There are some registry values relating to SIP, and it has already been announced that it supports skype.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i hope it will not be skype only.
some registry doesn't mean "it will be ok for SIP", but it's a good start
What about multitasking?
Is the multitasking the same as Windows Phone 7.5? Is the number of "freezed" apps increased? Are there any changes?
The only thing we know from MS is that VoIP apps and GPS apps will be able to run in background (or get much less limits compared to regular apps) - so apps like GPS navigation or Skype will run in background as you'd expect them.