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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!
Devs - I have been following the android development here on and off. I feel I've had enough of WM 6.5 and want to jump over to android. I have been doing lots of reading lately, but am not getting answers to few questions - Please let me know if android supports the following, I'm continuing my research as well
1) Exchange support: My office e-mail is also synced to my HD2. Does Android allow this?
2) Geo-tagging of pictures
3) Do we have any equivalent of Microsoft myphone? It feels good to have all data backed up to the cloud each night.
4) Twitter / Facebook - no worries here. official apps available
5) Compatibilty with MS Office apps? Can we view/edit excel, ppt's and word docs?
6) RSS feed readers? I use the one that comes with Sense
7) Facebook / Contacts integration
8) What is the best way of exporting PIM data (appointments, messages, contacts) from WM and importing it into Android?
9) Do we have complete media support? I have a good collection of songs and movies on my phone now. Also, does android support hardware acceleration for movies like the HTC photos app does?
10) Does GPS and the digital compass work? does the Google maps app on Android make use of the GPS receiver?
More questions as and when they come up.
I am on the following:
ROM version: 1.48.720.2 WWE
Radio version: 2.05.51.05_2
I am running the stock ROM that came with the phone, and I've got only the official hotfixes from the HTC site. Anything else I should be aware of while upgrading?
thanks in advance for all the help!
I have just installed my first android rom and I don't think you are going to get all you are hoping for. Most things work, depending on which build you go for but as I found you only have about half the functionality you get from WM6.5 - not because of the operating system, android is very slick and pretty, but it's the software you've accumulated over the years that makes the difference.
I think if I spent a few weeks accumulating all the apps then things might get close but android feels a little restrictive after so many years using WM.
You are best off trying it, it will run alongside WM with a little effort.
Upgrading to another ROM & radio is your first step, I'm using the latest stock 3.14 with no problem. Format a fresh SD card and start to load it, make sure all your WM apps are shut as windows exits very fast.
I have to say that the browser in android is the best I have ever seen on any device, flash works, videos play, browsing is almost the same as a desktop - it makes WM look it's age.
1. Yup, Ecxchange ActiveSync is part of android.
2. I've never really used it on Darkstone's FroyoStone, but it's part of the settings in the camera, and it activates the GPS.. So I guess so.
3. I use Gmail. It syncs mail, contacts and calendar. Really haven't searched for anything else, since I used gmail in WinMo.
4. You said it, man.
5. No idea.
6. Plenty on the market, and lots of them are free.
7. Works like a charm, and imho better than WinMo.
8. Again, I used Gmail. It doesn't export messages, but that didn't bother me.
9. No idea.
10. Yes. I'm having a feeling that sometimes my digital compass is acting a little weird, but I'm not sure. Maybe its my sense of orientation thats a little weird
I must say that I feel the exact opposite of boomboomer, android doesnt feel the slightest restrictive to me. The android OS as a whole took a couple of days to get used to, but the plethora of possibilities available just in the android market seems just awesome to me. I spend two days on finding the equivalent WinMo apps on the android market, and stumbled upon a lot more awesome apps in the process. (Even found my beloved Chuck Norris app!
But I do agree on the browser. It really is lightning fast!
You can use Sprite Migrate to move contacts and anything else from WM to Android. Ill post the steps later is necessary but you should be able to just Google it.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Klovnecaspar said:
1. Yup, Ecxchange ActiveSync is part of android.
2. I've never really used it on Darkstone's FroyoStone, but it's part of the settings in the camera, and it activates the GPS.. So I guess so.
3. I use Gmail. It syncs mail, contacts and calendar. Really haven't searched for anything else, since I used gmail in WinMo.
4. You said it, man.
5. No idea.
6. Plenty on the market, and lots of them are free.
7. Works like a charm, and imho better than WinMo.
8. Again, I used Gmail. It doesn't export messages, but that didn't bother me.
9. No idea.
10. Yes. I'm having a feeling that sometimes my digital compass is acting a little weird, but I'm not sure. Maybe its my sense of orientation thats a little weird
I must say that I feel the exact opposite of boomboomer, android doesnt feel the slightest restrictive to me. The android OS as a whole took a couple of days to get used to, but the plethora of possibilities available just in the android market seems just awesome to me. I spend two days on finding the equivalent WinMo apps on the android market, and stumbled upon a lot more awesome apps in the process. (Even found my beloved Chuck Norris app!
But I do agree on the browser. It really is lightning fast!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
boomboomer said:
I have just installed my first android rom and I don't think you are going to get all you are hoping for. Most things work, depending on which build you go for but as I found you only have about half the functionality you get from WM6.5 - not because of the operating system, android is very slick and pretty, but it's the software you've accumulated over the years that makes the difference.
I think if I spent a few weeks accumulating all the apps then things might get close but android feels a little restrictive after so many years using WM.
You are best off trying it, it will run alongside WM with a little effort.
Upgrading to another ROM & radio is your first step, I'm using the latest stock 3.14 with no problem. Format a fresh SD card and start to load it, make sure all your WM apps are shut as windows exits very fast.
I have to say that the browser in android is the best I have ever seen on any device, flash works, videos play, browsing is almost the same as a desktop - it makes WM look it's age.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes all of those things are functional in hyperdroid 1.6. This is what I run. I have posted my directions here. Easy to follow:
http://leoandroid.com/viewtopic.php?f=212&t=168
Thanks everyone for your feedback.
@ Klovnecaspar - how do you sync messages and pics to the cloud? gmail takes care of contacts, mails and appointments
@Zynro - Thanks. I will try it out.
@AMCjungle - Looks like a pretty detailed procedure. I don't have a T mobile HD2. It's a T8585 model. Would there be any change in the procedure?
Okay. I've made the jump. Installed the stock 3.14 ROM followed by the darkstone froyo build. Everything's good so far, still setting up everything ....
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Don't hesitate to post your feelings about it when you get used to android... I loved wm, but use android on my hd2 for months and honestly I can't go back.
My first tips are:
don't use a task killer it will be counter productive
Use an alternative home, launcher pro is highly recommended
For a business use, calendar widgets like pure calendar and pure grid calendar are very readable and customizable
Titanium backup is able to backup all your programs and their data on your sd card. You can after upload them in a dropbox account. Indispensable in case you have a problem or want to change build
For editing office files, the best I found is documents to go. Give it a try its great.
The only drawback I found is that you can't sync your notes with onenote. There are some great apps for notes that can sync to cloud like catch but I prefer use a simple text document with the powerful search features of the file editor Astro.
Oh for playing videos rockplayer is free, and play all kind of videos without a glitch, even with subtitles if you want.
hope that will help your experience
Wow...thanks a ton...will get titanium backup asap.
I've started to encounter the data corruption issue...missing files some of them appear in the "lost. dir" folder.
Another issue is with the data connection...it drops intermittently ans I have to switch on the airplane mode and then turn it off to restore the connection.
Any thoughts?
Overall, it has been a fabulous experience. It would be wonderful if HTC released an official rom for the hd2
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Hi guys,
I have been waiting for a long time for a mature Android phone (have had iPhone for the past 3 years) and i think Galaxy SII is just that. Its fast, speedy, have good camera, thin, pretty good standby etc...
Feature1 (or rather application suite):
What i been missing from Android phones so far has been a OSX sync, backup, music/video/podcast sync application and for Galaxy this is still missing sadly. So you guys who have OSX what do you use for the sync and backup? (it can be both freeware and thirdparty apps that cost, as long as its working without bugs)
Feature2:
This is something all old phones use to have but for some stupid reason have been removed on both iPhone and Android phones. I'm talking about recording calls natively (not interested using services or mic recording). You guys who know the hardware do you know if this is possible or is it like iphone not possible to do with this hardware?
Other then that i really love the screen of this phone so i like to upgrade to this from my current iPhone. Actually i have two sims so i will use both phones
Thanks for all answers
If I'm not wrong Samsung kies can Sync and Backup
And yes Call Recording is possible. Here is more about that: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1065110
Syncing music, videos is no big deal. Kies does it, so do countless apps out there including winamp. You can basically sync any damn Android or smartphone or dumb phone with memory slot using Winamp.
Kies also has functionality to backup your phone (apps can be synced to your google account anyway ).
You could try Kies Air, it is in your browser so it doesn't need any software.
(I could be wrong, because I don't have the SII.)
Thanks for all feedbacks.
I been searching and reading a little thanks to your tips and i the result wasnt all to positive.
At Samsung i found the Kies only for Windows (intressted for OSX).
samsung.com/se/consumer/mobile/mobilephones/mobilephones/GT-I9100LKANEE/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=support
Same goes for winamp ofcourse which is a Win app.
Kies Air seems to be just for the older models also or has any of you actually been downloading it for Galaxy SII? that would be really nice....
I dont have Android phone to see what i can download but it seems all these call recorder apps work on some models and not others.
Call recorder:
androlib.com/android.application.com-opensystem-callrecord-jjDw.aspx
also
sv.appbrain.com/app/call-recorder/com.schass.recording.call
DroidRecord PRO:
brighthub.com/mobile/google-android/articles/101742.aspx
and
appbrain.com/app/droidrecord-pro/com.gonzo.droidrecord
Also read about TotalRecall which seems to be old and not updated.
Has any of you actually tested any of these and can verify that it works (on GSII)? which one?
Thanks for the help guys but please give me some info that you know for sure works on GSII. Links are also very welcome.
Kies Air seems to be just for the older models also or has any of you actually been downloading it for Galaxy SII? that would be really nice....
Its on SGS2 either as stock or via the Samsung update on the phone .
Not that i have ever used it as i copy and paste .
jje
JJEgan said:
Kies Air seems to be just for the older models also or has any of you actually been downloading it for Galaxy SII? that would be really nice....
Its on SGS2 either as stock or via the Samsung update on the phone .
Not that i have ever used it as i copy and paste .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for confirming. I dont understand what you mean by copy/paste though! Music/video sure you can do that but for contact/calendar and backup i dont see how u can copy/paste.
Any way i'm saving some money for this baby so i hope it can work well under OSX. Seems all Android phones are made for windows. On the other hand SGII has other benefits like playing xvid/divx so no need to re-encode movies....
Doubletwist?
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App
DoubleTwist works great with OSX, I use it .
I can confirm that my GSII came with kies air pre-installed.
I use kies in windows but kies air in linux.
Drag and drop is really easy on this phone as well due to the large internal memory.
I use iSyncr, works great for iTunes music, videos and podcast synching to my MBP. There is an option to sync by Wifi at extra cost.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
You used an iPhone right?
So in baby words, instead of now using iTunes for iPhone/iPod, you use Kies for Samsung.
You can sync all your music/photos/vids/apps and what not
Easy? It's also the official software for it too so yeah
Ahh DoubleTwist AirSync looks the most promising so far. Pretty much same as itunes. Easy to use and just drag&drop, me like
I wish it had Address Bok, Calenday, Bookmarks syncing as well like iTunes but you cant have it all
By the way one thing i'm a but scared of and cant seem to find a consistent answer to is the application and their saved data. On my iPhone when i sync all application and their settings+saved data (game saves and such) are backed up. So when i do upgrades or jailbreak i can always copy back all i had.
How does this work on Android phone (SGII)?
Lets say i have a few games and have many saved data and want to try a new Android build? how exactly do you backup your data and then put it back? Has anyone done something like this?
Sorry for my noobish questions but after 3 years of having had iPhone it feels strange to not know how anything works. Your support makes the jump much easier
if you are installing new roms get Titanium Backup Pro. lets you store all game and app data on your memory card.
also for calendar and contact sync I've been happy with Google doing that and storing it in the cloud.
artesea said:
if you are installing new roms get Titanium Backup Pro. lets you store all game and app data on your memory card.
also for calendar and contact sync I've been happy with Google doing that and storing it in the cloud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great tips, will download it once i get the SGII. Thanks.
By the way i just might get mine Tuesday next week, the store is getting in 2 of them and i'm in queue so here's hoping. I been to the store 5 times and played with it. Tested my Bluetooth headset and played some music and it worked perfectly fine.
@Rooster19:If you going to help new people get rid of the attitude or just dont help. I love my iPhone but i'm open for trying new OS:es. Respect other peoples preferences and choices. If you dont like something dont buy it but stop judging people based on what they buy. i work in Telecom business myself and fall in love with iPhone directly from the release of the first device. After my 3GS it did felt a bit tiresome i couldn't access the memory, play movies directly (divx,xvid), change themes, play mp3 for ringtone and some other minor things that i saw obvious.
On Android side i tested many of them like Desire, X10 but they never felt smooth enough and the menus felt messy. SGII is the first device i actually think is mature enough for me to abandon my iPhone. I haven't got mine yet so maybe i go back to iPhone but from what i seen i think not. Time will tell.
Android has some flaws too but thats just the nature of products, everything has its pro and con. Anyway please understand that people have their reason for liking or disliking things. Just because you dont like something it doesn't automatically make it the right thing for everyone.
Hi everbody,
I've been using my transformer for about a month now and all in all I am very happy with it. It has been rooted and Custom ROMed since day 1 and I got a big amount of apps on it.
As I use the transformer mostly for things I did with my regular computer, it has now come to a point where I find the transformer a bit too less integrated with my android phone.
With my regular PC it's been a one-click-action to send my current browser window to the phone via "Chrome2Phone" and vice versa with "2cloud".
Now with the transformer I have to use a chat app or twitter or anything alike to transfer the links to my phone. It takes a little to much effort to open the chat app, open the message, click the link... you get the point.
But instead of searching for a solution limited to this particular problem, it came to my mind, to ask you, how you "connect" both android devices to get the most out of it:
How do you get the best symbiosis-like experience out of an Android Tablet together with an Android Smartphone?
I'm not talking about having contacts in sync or tethering the phone to the tablet, it's more meant like the above things...
Maybe how you accomplish having apps and their data in sync, easily transfer things back and force from phone/tablet,
make notifications appear on both, have ringtone settings, locks, themes etc synchronized, have the same media on both devices, have a permanent dlna server on one of them to be available at every time, use one device as the input device for the other and so on.
Please think about everything that connects both devices in a smart way. As you can see I'm suffering from a lack of ideas considering how to make most use of my devices.
Is there a way to make an app bought/downloaded from the market on the phone automatically appear on the tablet and vice versa?
I hope we can collect a good collection of input, app recommendations to get more out of our great devices.
I am happily waiting for your answers,
thanks in advance
modmatt
FYI: My setup consists of a Transformer 16gb wifi on the Revolver ROM and a Motorola Defy with CM7.2.
Textab
Swyped from my Nexus One
How about a Samsung Galaxy Note? http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote/note/index.html?type=find
EDIT: it's a 5" (or 5.3 maybe?) tablet/phone combo. Supposed to be able to fulfill both roles.
I have my tablet using my phone's internet when I'm not at home, I have my contacts and calandar synced on both and have a dropbox account. I also have the app Tablet Remote which isn't as I would like it yet but currently does allow me to control my tablet with my phone and vice versa.
I use my phone for music, texting, reading e-mails/news on the go and my tablet for when I settle down. I'd say they're working pretty well as a combo.
@Mutnat Isn't that a bit too big? I mean 4,65 inch is also enormous but it seems it's getting bigger and bigger!
By using more cloud services (Dropbox, Cashbase, etc) and using Tablet Talk for SMS stuff -- works waaay better than TexTab or Bluetooth SMS.
No_u said:
@Mutnat Isn't that a bit too big? I mean 4,65 inch is also enormous but it seems it's getting bigger and bigger!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Likely, yes. Too big for a phone, too small for a tablet. But having never tried one, I can't say for sure.
First of all thank you for all the answers!
The answer from No_u is pretty much what I expected to read
Thanks to Spidey01 I learned about a new cloud service to manage my expenses.
I already read about the shared text stuff beforehand, but unfortunately most of my mobile to mobile communication has shifted to Whatsapp and while there is a solution to run Whatsapp on the tablet, it adds more conflicts, as the tablet left at home with wifi permanently connected catches all those messages I'd rather get on my phone.
Concerning the Samsung Note I go with Mutnat. But it's definetly not an option for me as I prefer to have to separate devices.
One thing I'd like to throw in is Skifta, which is a fairly simple DLNA Server/Client that can be run on any android device. Start it on the phone, start in on the tablet and watch all your phone photos on the big screen.
Still curious what others do, so keep the thread going
Nice Weekend for all of u
SiNJiN76 said:
Textab
Swyped from my Nexus One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd recommend TabletTalk over Textab..
Cool thread idea. Hope we get some more responses coming in.
I've been playing with Evernote and it has some sync-between-devices features.
Box.net is great for cloud storage and with esfile explorer, you can view the contents as an on machine folder on android. Gladinet has a free program that lets you mount cloud services as local folders. Add foldersync from the market to android and you can sync cloud folders to all machines.
Not ideal and not the continuous client you're aiming for, but helps keep the folders (pics, documents, movies, etc) in Sync.
Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk
hi,
he I use DeskSMS for SMS on Tab ...
Work in 3G Wifi ...
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
on exactly what you want, no, i have never seen and dont know. but if you are willing to make an app that collects this data and sends it to the likes of box.net or dropbox and receive it and open on the other device would be good.
Apps like Colornote, Astrid and Evernote sync so quick notes on the phone end up on the tab and Google Voice works on the tab too. I use that number for text messages.
I have found twonky mobile very good for sharing media between devices.
I recommend Google Chrome as your main browser so that you're synced across all your devices. However it works just on Android 4.0.
I'm using so a GNEX, a linux PC, a Windows PC, a Windows laptop and my Transformer and it makes life a lot more easier.
In addition I recommend Google Music makes the handling with Music over multiple devices much easier.
And last but not least Google Docs for documents.
The only thing which I'm missing is an app which gives me the possibility to sync all my ebooks.
Nebucatnetzer said:
The only thing which I'm missing is an app which gives me the possibility to sync all my ebooks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using Aldiko and Aldiko Sync. The pro version has an automatic sync to dropbox. The great thing about Aldiko Sync is it remembers where you left off reading and saves that state, so when you switch devices you can immediately start reading.
I was a long time Windows Mobile user. Having started on a PDA (Dell Axim) and then moving on to a Cingular HTC model and finally an HTC Fuse. I was pretty excited about Windows Phone 7 but when the wait became too long, I finally went to Android. At the time, I was a little miffed about no Outlook Syncing and VPN on Windows Phone 7 (which I could do via Google's services and CompanionLink) so I've gone through two upgrades of my Android Phones, all Samsung’s (Currently with Skyrocket.) I also own the pretty awesome ASUS Transformer Prime tablet. My work phone is the lackluster (but only Verizon option) Windows Phone 7 HTC Trophy. So, I do get a Windows 7 fix but find that I rarely use it. But, I've always pulled for Windows Phone to succeed.
I enjoy Android to an extend but my life revolved around Windows (work and home) and I often find that I can't do much productive work on the Android platform. I love to consume media (Flipboard and Google Reader mainly) but even with my keyboard dock, I just can't feel productive.
That all looks to change for me with SURFACE, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. I love the one ecosystem that is finally coming to shape (I am also an XBOX owner) and the Pro line of the SURFACE tablets look to be what I am looking for. Windows Phone 8 looks to make some impressive improvements and the wait for both Surface and Windows Phone 8 devices seems to be pretty hard.
Can't wait!
I am in complete agreement about the Microsoft ecosystem coming together.
I had several WinMo 5.x and 6.x phones ending with the slow to age HD2.
I went to Android by choice and find HTC's Android Sense works in the business world very well. However, iPads and Android tablets are truly consumption devices and painful for much else.
Apple and Android are being attacked on a front they didn't see coming. Microsoft dominates livingrooms with Xbox. They also dominate in computer OS. However, people demand portability and simplicity.
Microsoft Surface easily replaces, laptop, tablet and e-reader....in a GUI that they have begun to learn with Xbox and possibly Windows Phone 7.
How fantastic to have one Metro GUI for every aspect of your life....coupled with high quality, cutting edge hardware.
FINALLY MICROSOFT!!
Sent from my HTC Vivid using TapaTalk
And I will echo you again. The ecosystem is what is what is drawing me. I've had good times with Android but I don't want to be a hybrid when it comes to my gadgets. The wait for WP8 and Surface is going to be hard.
Until then, I'll continue to enjoy my Droid tablet and phone and play a lot of WOPR:Wargames!
I'm really excited about this too.
I've always thought the windows kernel is just top notch in a lot of ways. It's great to see Microsoft finally push this stuff into the phone. The convergence of the desktop and phone ecosystems can only mean good things for us devs and the end-user.
Good software is the key of mobile market,Microsoft showed us with Wp7 most important thing was not hardware.Wp7 was faster and stabler than android even with poor hardware.And now Wp8 coming harder.I am very exciting for native game development on wp8.I think wp8 phones will be best platform for gaming..
And metro ui is original and useful..
Do Windows Phones sync well with Google Services? (Calendar, contacts, etc.) That is really my favorite function of my Android phone is the syncing of Google Services.
garak0410 said:
Do Windows Phones sync well with Google Services? (Calendar, contacts, etc.) That is really my favorite function of my Android phone is the syncing of Google Services.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are going to buy into the Microsoft ecosystem, I would ditch Google Services. Instead, try Microsoft's equivalent, Hotmail. You set it up as an Exchange server. All calendar, email and contacts sync.
Is there any reason you are attached to Google stuff?
Sent from my HTC Vivid using TapaTalk
willgill said:
If you are going to buy into the Microsoft ecosystem, I would ditch Google Services. Instead, try Microsoft's equivalent, Hotmail. You set it up as an Exchange server. All calendar, email and contacts sync.
Is there any reason you are attached to Google stuff?
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Not so much attached but liking it. Google Reader and YouTube are my favorite mobile apps and I hope someone will finally make good versions of them for Windows Phone. I do like syncing with Outlook via CompanionLink and I think they have a sync for Windows Phone/Live too...
Use SuperTube for your YouTube-worries. It gets the job done nicely (also allows downloading of Videos btw.). MetroTube looked a little nicer but it's gone due to pressure from Google to remove it.
As for Sync: Google somewhat supports the Exchange Active Sync Protocol so you can sync your Contacts, E-Mail and Appointments from your GMail Account. Due to the fact that the protocol was developed for Microsoft's Exchange Server it does not support Features in GMail that don't exist on other platforms - you would have to check to see if you're using some of those.
Also sometimes Google has been slow to allow certain features they allow for other platforms (for whatever reason). E.g. WP7 learned in Version 7.5 to sync multiple calendars/account. It took several months before that worked with GMail - problem being that Google's servers didn't offer the other calendars.
Apps accessing Google Reader should be available in the Marketplace.
I'm not using Google services aside from YouTube so I can't be more specific. Hope it helps anyway.
garak0410 said:
Not so much attached but liking it. Google Reader and YouTube are my favorite mobile apps and I hope someone will finally make good versions of them for Windows Phone. I do like syncing with Outlook via CompanionLink and I think they have a sync for Windows Phone/Live too...
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Oh, and forgot to mention Google Music...I did download the Google Music App for my HTC Trophy but it has a ways to go.
If the XBOX Music player will allow for playlists for streaming music and allow those playlists to sync between the phone, Surface, PC and XBOX, then I won't need Google Music! Or even Spotify!
garak0410 said:
Do Windows Phones sync well with Google Services? (Calendar, contacts, etc.) That is really my favorite function of my Android phone is the syncing of Google Services.
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Yes my phone syncs with google contacts, google calendar and gmail including saving contacts to google.
For Youtube I use Youtube Pro.
For gmail I use IM+
I don't use google reader so not sure about that one.
v_garg said:
Yes my phone syncs with google contacts, google calendar and gmail including saving contacts to google.
For Youtube I use Youtube Pro.
For gmail I use IM+
I don't use google reader so not sure about that one.
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I am convinced I can move my syncing over to live without a problem. I can still do YouTube and Google Reader through those third party apps. I am digging Flipboard for my Google Reader stuff, so here's hoping it will come to the Metro Ecosystem.
garak0410 said:
Oh, and forgot to mention Google Music...I did download the Google Music App for my HTC Trophy but it has a ways to go.
If the XBOX Music player will allow for playlists for streaming music and allow those playlists to sync between the phone, Surface, PC and XBOX, then I won't need Google Music! Or even Spotify!
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There's 3 Google Music apps that I can see in the market.
Gooroovster (free while in beta)
Cloud City Music (free)
CloudMuzik ($1)
I used Gooroovster and it's great. Looks and acts like the stock WP7.5 music player.
I'd be surprised if MS didn't make their own cloud music service for Windows Phone 8.
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I was unbelievably sceptical about Microsoft gaining any real traction with the new WP, but it does look like it's going to come into its own within the next year so. I personally was put off before because of a lack of high-resolution displays (which the OS didn't even support AFAIK) so will be on Android for the next year or so, but I'm hoping next time around I can seriously consider Windows Phone 8 or its successor.
StevieBallz said:
Use SuperTube for your YouTube-worries. It gets the job done nicely (also allows downloading of Videos btw.). MetroTube looked a little nicer but it's gone due to pressure from Google to remove it.
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Slightly off topic, but I find PrimeTube to be a worthy successor to MetroTube
garak0410 said:
Do Windows Phones sync well with Google Services? (Calendar, contacts, etc.) That is really my favorite function of my Android phone is the syncing of Google Services.
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My Live account is actually my Gmail address, so I have them both synched up to my phone (contacts, calendars and emails). The aforementioned PrimeTube has my Youtube subscriptions covered. I'm not sure what else you could want, besides Google+, but with the Facebook and Twitter functionality on WP being the way it is... I kind of forget about my Google+ account.
Edit: I find Windows Phone is a slow burn. At first everyone I knew sort of shunned it and was all "Why would you even want a Windows Phone?" but as time wore on I've won over a few converts, and I'm seeing more and more people dissatisfied with their current smart phones... and it's not over stuff that can be fixed without major overhauls (like just the way things work, UI and so on).
A friend of mine got an Omnia 7 cheap unlocked after owning an iPhone and an Xperia of some sort. She was never happy with a smart phone until she got onboard with WP. My mum too. Smart phones were always too complicated for her, but now she's finally joined the computer age. My sister has had an Omnia 7 for a while as well after being intensely frustrated with her old iPhone, and she's convinced her partner to get one (it was pretty easy after he realised Office was on there. If I knew that was all it took to convince him I would have said sooner lol).
Anyway I guess my point is, Windows Phone is getting there. Slowly, but surely. Windows Phone 8 is definitely the dramatic step forward the platform needs. I'm pretty happy to have been on board from the get go, and I'm excited to see where things lead
Demaar said:
Slightly off topic, but I find PrimeTube to be a worthy successor to MetroTube
My Live account is actually my Gmail address, so I have them both synched up to my phone (contacts, calendars and emails). The aforementioned PrimeTube has my Youtube subscriptions covered. I'm not sure what else you could want, besides Google+, but with the Facebook and Twitter functionality on WP being the way it is... I kind of forget about my Google+ account.
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Thank's for all of the app tips. I am not a "Google" fanboy but when I finally let them take me to the cloud with my contacts, email, RSS feeds and podcasts, I kind of liked it. All of their apps are a joy to use (Google Reader, YouTube, Maps, Listen.)
But I am ready to transition to Surface/Windows Phone 8. If it wasn't a bad "buy", I'd pick up an old TITAN until the WP8's come out so I can begin my transition to Microsoft services. My work issued Verizon HTC Trophy just doesn't cut it yet...
StevieBallz said:
Use SuperTube for your YouTube-worries. It gets the job done nicely (also allows downloading of Videos btw.). MetroTube looked a little nicer but it's gone due to pressure from Google to remove it.
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Slightly off-topic, but in case you guys didn't know, MetroTube is back in the Marketplace
It's by far the smoothest and most functional WP7 app that I've used.
Also, with your original post about being 'into' the Google ecosystem--I was like that when I used Android, and then I gradually switched over a lot of my services to the Live equivalents (hotmail, calendar, etc). I found that the first party app integrations were much more reliable than the third party clients.
garak0410 said:
And I will echo you again. The ecosystem is what is what is drawing me. I've had good times with Android but I don't want to be a hybrid when it comes to my gadgets. The wait for WP8 and Surface is going to be hard.
Until then, I'll continue to enjoy my Droid tablet and phone and play a lot of WOPR:Wargames!
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I am in the same boat.
Cant agree with all of you more. Been using WP& on my HD2 since the early days of its release. I cant/wont use anything else now. All my RSS/email/Office on tap! Even able to connect the phone to my classroom projector for my Powerpoints! My phone is slowing dying however and can not find anything i like to replace my HD2WP7(64GB). I may have to wait until WP8 or unless i can find a 2nd hand HD2!
Last month i bought a Samsung series 7 Slate with Win8 and love it. I use it for work, i use it along with my phone (connection to the phones 3G WiFi) and regulary annoy my iPad/android mates by playing Civ5 and other games on my slate.
Ive always believed that if Microsoft pulled their finger out, they could easily group all their systems together (PC/Phones/Consoles/Online services) and win the market. Its starting to ring true as just this month, 4 friends got rid of their iPhones for WP7 after their phones broke/crashed/stopped working.
People need to stop being fooled by fake advertising and apple design and move away from the dark side to app intergration and one platform!
Anyway, my rant over! Keep it up Microsoft!
I was sold on the Windows phone concept in the days of the Zune HD, which was leaps and bounds ahead of its time (well, ahead by a few years at least) in terms of fluidity and interface. I really love the direction that Microsoft has taken with the next generation of its OS, and I was very happy to see Surface premiered.
The only problem I had when I was using the ZHD was the very limited market for apps it provided, but that seems to be a thing of the past.