Like the one in SPB mobile shell, but for apps rather than avalible screens.
like this one http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/mobileshell/
mmmalas said:
Like the one in SPB mobile shell, but for apps rather than avalible screens.
like this one http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/mobileshell/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure about this.... what if only 2 open apps? or 20 apps? how to scroll? What seems more user friendly is something like coverflow/music tab, per app like one screenshot and can swipe between apps. It is however a very big load for the system i think....
mouki_9 said:
not sure about this.... what if only 2 open apps? or 20 apps? how to scroll? What seems more user friendly is something like coverflow/music tab, per app like one screenshot and can swipe between apps. It is however a very big load for the system i think....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you open 2 apps, then you have 2 windows opposite to each others, with 20 windows then big carousel .
system usage not going to be much unless you are navigating the task switcher, but once it dissapear then no need for it to run with full memory
Hmm...
mmmalas said:
if you open 2 apps, then you have 2 windows opposite to each others, with 20 windows then big carousel .
system usage not going to be much unless you are navigating the task switcher, but once it dissapear then no need for it to run with full memory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having a look at this now... It is actually a little more complex than you think though. Even before we go anywhere near the carousel part (3D is well out of my league) you still have to think about how your going to get the screenshots to display on it:
Windows only actually performs paint operations on active windows therefore we need to take screenshots of that active window, how are we going to do that?
a) Use a timer taking screen shots at regular intervals (every few secs or so) of the currently active window using the last one taken as the screenshot when inactive - Obviously this still does require both memory and proc time to perform even when whatever UI you create is not actually active. This however is the most likely to work solution to the problem.
b) See if there is any way you can catch a window at the moment it is being minimized - This is potentially difficult but would probably be the most accurate. However this is may not actually possible (need to research a little more though) - i.e. can you actually catch the window before it actually minimizes or are you always going to be too late and end up capturing nothing. Kind of like trying to photograph a bullet from a gun using a handheld camera by listening for the sound of it firing (capturing the close event on the window and acting on it before the actual window it was sent to acts on that event) <---- Maybe a more experienced dev has some thought on this?
I also agree with mouki a little on this one in terms of usability. As much as your idea is much cooler to look at after about two days I would want to swap it for something where I could actually efficiently switch between tasks rather than rolling through an endless carousel trying to find that *bloody* app I wanted to switch too.
I'm going to see what I can come up with but I think it's going to end up being tile based as that is the most efficient as you'll be able to see more at one time but definitely like the idea of having thumbnails rather than just names for a switcher...
However I'm working on another project though at the mo (Leo as a fully customisable remote control for our PC's) so wont have much time just now to look at a switcher project, however will keep you posted on what I find out...
this will be more usable really in terms of switching, as you will have photo of what you are switching to rather than just a name.
it all depends on how your memeory works really.
remember how you switch windows in MS windows with alt tab, or win+tab.
its less usage on the brain that way.
as for closing, you dont care about closing, since once its closed then there is no need to display. what you care about is minimizing, or when win is inactive.
I can do this type of application on the PC very easily using AutoHotKey script. however I have no clue how PPC programing is done
A starter for ten
Fortunately my background in programming comes from the .net framework so it's reasonably easy to make the jump to .net compact framework ppc (even if I've got to get used to the reduced ammount of functions). I can see how this would be different for you... I've just taken a look at what AutoHotKey is probably the nearest equivelent for you would be MortScript (Pretty powerful)
Heres our starter for ten anyway in vb.net: http://anoriginalidea.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/getting-a-screenshot-using-vbnet-on-the-compact-framework-20/ <--- This shows the library that would be used to capture the screen shots.
Hey, might be a very limited market, but I was wondering if anyone knew, or could code an app that overlays the video camera (or is its own video camera) with GPS information.
In theory it shouldn't be too hard to do, poll the GPS for speed, the compass for direction and stick them at the bottom of a video overlay along with the system date and time on top of the camera, then record the total image/video to the SD card.
I got thinking about this after picking up my car dock and having a play around with it (inadvertently managing to record a drivers eye view of my journey home!). It would be a great app for trackdays etc, you could even output the GPS NMEA data to a KMZ file and import it into google earth, or given some fine tuning make it into a very basic GPS data logger...
Anyways, thinking out loud here If anyone can do it let me know, I can code basic stuff, but something like that is way out of my league...
Cheers
Sounds like a nice application. To take it even further: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgXzdUb_fug I think this is an even greater use of camera + gps.
The only thing about making it into an augmented reality nav system is that it will still require mapping information, and the prob with that is that the free ones have pretty mad amounts of errors, and the paid ones need megabux spending (and they still have loads of errors).
With my idea, it's not an A/R system - it's simply a video overlay of info that's already in the phone. The major problem I see would be polling it, interpreting it, and writing it to the video at 30fps or whatever the unit captures at.
I do like that app tho, but it's not really what I envisaged with this
So you want to record a video similar to this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdAIaIOySoA for afterwards playback only? If so, I think this is possible only to store video + gps information in seperate files. The recorded video will be recorded as a normal video. The gps data can be stored using a kmz file with a sort of timestamp. Afterwards these 2 files can be played back with a application on the android device which reads these two files and overlays the video playback with the data from the kmz file.
I guess it will be to hard to create an application that records video and embeds the recorded gps data into the recorded video. Maybe someone with more knowledge of the android API can say something about this?
yep, got it in one... Although it would be for playback on the PC rather than on the phone.
The standard format is .3GPP, which is nice and small (comparitively speaking) and good quality too, and plays on a PC through Quicktime / VLC no problem.
I honestly think it would be perfectly doable... I just can't do it!!!
It sounds cool, but is it useful? Will anyone actually read the data/time/lat/long on the bottom of the screen during playback?
On top of that it will make the cpu work extra hard putting the text on every video frame.
Another idea is to use the timed-text stream (subtitles) in the mp4 file. (more)
Dont know how much work is involved.
It is a pretty specialist app, however I reckon people would use it for timing laps etc.
Look at how many in-car videos there are of trackdays on YouTube, and the ProVida system that is in use in the video above... there is a definite use for it imho - even if it's just used to show off people's VMAX on the autobahns etc!!
Must admit, I wouldn't see a point in the lat/long info - all I was guessing at was a simple overlay on the video with speed and direction bottom left, date & time bottom right so as not to distract from the actual video.
Hep hep hep
Don't put this idea underground (please). This app could be REALLY interesting for a bunch of freak I know (I'm one of them too :-D)
I'm in a very big forum of EV and there, such video is really really researched. The fact that it has to be processed afterward made by a separate soft is no problem...our main target is to upload a video with speed, altitude...etc for comparison or simple burning thing like "Yeah I've the freakiest e-bike..ever" X-)))
This is interesting for e-bike but also for EVERY (on the road, in the wood...etc) people which are searching performances and want to share them
Hope someone like the idea. If not I make a thread on the endless-sphere forum that the guys come "show their motiviation" here
Cheeeeers and do it ;-)
Grüß,
H.
A lot of people have been waiting for this for a long time, but I don't think its possible on android yet.
Lets hope it will be on 3.0.
A friend said that one guy will release a update to his track logging app, for the iphone 4 within a few days that will add this functionality.
B1ny said:
A lot of people have been waiting for this for a long time, but I don't think its possible on android yet.
Lets hope it will be on 3.0.
A friend said that one guy will release a update to his track logging app, for the iphone 4 within a few days that will add this functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I'd love to be updated if something is released ^_^
I installed something along that line for my Jeep-carputer using Xport and what not...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdB7FksRd68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRzWAWOjnH0
More info on minicam project: http://www.curioustech.net/minicam.html
screen shot: http://www.curioustech.net/images/front.jpg
But I would love to see something like this for android. (would love this on my evo)
0okami said:
Well, I'd love to be updated if something is released ^_^
I installed something along that line for my Jeep-carputer using Xport and what not...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdB7FksRd68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRzWAWOjnH0
More info on minicam project: http://www.curioustech.net/minicam.html
screen shot: http://www.curioustech.net/images/front.jpg
But I would love to see something like this for android. (would love this on my evo)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like there is something out there and its FREE! :
http://www.dailyroads.com/voyager.php
DailyRoads Voyager
I am wondering if anyone can make a two finger hold screenshot that can work for any type of unlock? What this means is when you are in any application all you do to get a screen shot is hold down two fingers till the screen flashes. Is this possible I want a two finger hold screen to come alive thanks.
Typically, the only app that receives touch input is the active (foreground) one. You caould implement this feature in any given app, but to do it across the whole OS... I don't think anybody knows how to do that yet without a custom ROM.
What's wrong with the current screen capture method? It works well, and uses a command not currently used for anything else (unless you're in the camera app). Some apps do track multiple fingers on the screen already...
GoodDayToDie said:
Typically, the only app that receives touch input is the active (foreground) one. You caould implement this feature in any given app, but to do it across the whole OS... I don't think anybody knows how to do that yet without a custom ROM.
What's wrong with the current screen capture method? It works well, and uses a command not currently used for anything else (unless you're in the camera app). Some apps do track multiple fingers on the screen already...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the current one doesnt have the proper resolution as the phone but it does the job for now.
Where did you get that idea? Screen Capture.jpg - 480x800. That's that native resolution of WP7. It actually looks bigger than the phone when looked at on most PCs, because the phone has a very high DPI.
Now, it might be nice to use a lossless compression method, but that's a different problem.
GoodDayToDie said:
Where did you get that idea? Screen Capture.jpg - 480x800. That's that native resolution of WP7. It actually looks bigger than the phone when looked at on most PCs, because the phone has a very high DPI.
Now, it might be nice to use a lossless compression method, but that's a different problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heard that when you screenshot take a picture in the 320/480 or something similar to that resolution
Not sure where you heard that - I've followed the screenshotting tool with some interest, and it's not that hard to read the whole thread on it or even dig up the old threads - but it's not true. You might want to actually give the current tool a try, instead of asking for a new one on baseless assumptions. It works really well.
So let me preface by saying Ive gone from iPhone to Android and have been watching WP since launch and plan on it being my next OS after I can get a hold of an off contract Verizon phone relatively cheaply or when my upgrade is up. I love how fluid it seems with its native apps and I want to get away from my buggy and laggy/stuttering Droid X (Which is the same for everyone I know with one).
But there's some things that you really don't take into account when you don't actually use the device everyday, so I figured Id ask here and see how WP stacks up.
What I am looking for info on:
-I use Android's file system to store non-market/root APK's to reinstall apps after wiping/updating the phone and such. I would like to unlock my WP for things like screenshot utilities; how does that whole scene work in a quick summary? I know about Chevron, but how are these apps distributed, updated etc.?
-How are non-native apps with scrolling smoothness these days in Mango? I cant stand the lag and stuttering in Android.
-Can you download from IE to the file system with homebrew? How about natively?
-How does Skydrive work for installers/loading installers, PDF's and other non-Office files? Can you browse it like a filesystem, as I currently use it as a Network Drive on my PC anyways.
-Does the universal volume setup become an issue? I use my phone as my PMP with headphones all the time, then I need it to be on vibrate for class and in general, also alarms randomly, and occasionally I play games with the media on. Will I be missing alarms or leaving the ringer on in class if I don't pay close attention or is it mainly just when going headphones to media? I dont quite understand how it works specifically.
-Quick ways to toggle WiFi and screen brightness with homebrew?
-Back up options for app settings and things if a wipe happens?
-Do you find yourself ever getting annoyed with the animations or the app list for less used apps that still get accessed once in a while?
-How bad is board reader for browsing forums or the free reddit apps? They dont have great ratings.
-Am I going to be panning a lot in IE without text reflow? I usually browse/do everything in portrait and dont like landscape much FYI.
Anything you really miss about Android or iOS?
I only know of TouchXplorer for HTC for file management but im sure there are others for the other brands. Not sure how you would go about storing files for re installation. Dont think anyone has figured out how to invoke the xap installer from files on the phone. Most of these apps are found here on XDA
Most apps are pretty smooth. Depends on the dev. Id say they are all smoother than android though.
Dont think you can download to the file system from IE
You can access Skydrive from the office hub. You can open media files and pdfs etc. Once again not sure about install files.
I havent had a problem with the volume. I use my phone for media and games. I just put it on vibrate when i need to which is easy to do on the lock screen.
Cant toggle from the homescreen yet, there are apps that are shortcuts to the setting though
There is a homebrew backup program here on XDA somewhere
I dont get annoyed by the animations. They make for a nice experience
The XDA app is a version of board express i believe and its not too bad. I Haven't tried any of the Reddit apps
There is a bit of panning. I find its just easier to find a good zoom level that you can read it on
Hope i helped
Mike415 said:
What I am looking for info on:
-I use Android's file system to store non-market/root APK's to reinstall apps after wiping/updating the phone and such. I would like to unlock my WP for things like screenshot utilities; how does that whole scene work in a quick summary? I know about Chevron, but how are these apps distributed, updated etc.?
I've never used TouchXplorer, so I don't even know if it is compatible with Mango, but if it is it would be the only file explorer option I know of. WP is not designed as an open system, so file explorers are not officially supported.
-How are non-native apps with scrolling smoothness these days in Mango? I cant stand the lag and stuttering in Android.
I have around 175 third party apps installed on my phone, and at least half of them exhibit enough lag/stutter that it is noticeable, and some are quite annoying, even some of the major apps (such as Accuweather.com and USA Today). Generally, it seems that if an app is fetching data from the internet while it is also rendering to the display, you will probably notice some lag/stutter. I've never owned an Android, but from the videos I've seen on YouTube and also from what I've observed watching my son use his Samsung Captivate, the lag (at least in third party apps) is comparable.
-Can you download from IE to the file system with homebrew? How about natively?
All apps are sandboxed on WP, so downloading to "the filesystem" is not supported.
-How does Skydrive work for installers/loading installers, PDF's and other non-Office files? Can you browse it like a filesystem, as I currently use it as a Network Drive on my PC anyways.
Again, I don't know about homebrew, but generally speaking SkyDrive only supports photos and Office documents from your phone.
-Does the universal volume setup become an issue? I use my phone as my PMP with headphones all the time, then I need it to be on vibrate for class and in general, also alarms randomly, and occasionally I play games with the media on. Will I be missing alarms or leaving the ringer on in class if I don't pay close attention or is it mainly just when going headphones to media? I dont quite understand how it works specifically.
This one is a bit tricky. As far as missing alarms due to turning the ringer on or off, that is probably not likely. Turning vibrate-only mode on or off is remarkably simple on WP. Just wake up the phone, press either volume control, and then tap the ringer icon to toggle it on or off.
However, that is the good news. The bad news is that the universal volume means that having the volume high enough to be able to hear the phone ring from your pocket also means that any app, game or media will also blast out of the phone at annoyingly loud levels. And conversely, if you turn the volume down far enough to play a game or listen to music at a comfortable level, but forget to turn it back up when you are done, you will miss calls, guaranteed. It has happened to me more times than I care to count.
-Quick ways to toggle WiFi and screen brightness with homebrew?
Quick setting toggles are not supported. You can, however, get a reasonably adequate shortcuts to the four main toggles (WiFI, 3G, Airplane mode, and Bluetooth) on your start screen. The unfortunate annoyance is that, depending on how you lay out your start screen, you may have a few button presses/scroll swipes necessary to complete the toggle of a setting). As for brightness, there is no toggle support for that.
-Back up options for app settings and things if a wipe happens?
There is no support for backup of app settings, game saves or SMS messages, period. None at all. You can (using a homebrew app) perform a complete device backup, but it cannot be transferred to another device.
-Do you find yourself ever getting annoyed with the animations or the app list for less used apps that still get accessed once in a while?
Do the animations annoy me? Yes. Contrary to the apparently popular opinion here, I find much of the animation on the start screen to be gimmicky (the people hub, game hub, and "me" hub icons especially so). And many third party apps flip their icons for no reason at all, just for the sake of flipping it. For example Flixster flips the tile between a static photo of a currently-playing movie on one side (with the program icon in the corner), and the program icon filling the tile on the other side. It serves no purpose.
With that said, SOME of the app tiles are VERY useful, such as most weather apps, which usually flip between current conditions and forecast conditions. Being a weather junky, I love that feature.
Regarding the app list, it is more than just an annoyance, it is a major frustration for me, every single day. With no app grouping capabilities at all (I wouldn't care HOW it was implemented, I just want SOMETHING implemented), finding apps in a long list can be a real chore. I don't like it at all. If you only ever plan to have 20 or 30 apps, it might be OK. But if you need more than that, the number of taps and flicks and swipes needed to find and launch an app can be time-consuming.
-How bad is board reader for browsing forums or the free reddit apps? They dont have great ratings.
I've only used the trial version of Board Express, and didn't like it at all. Most of the reports from people here are that it is painfully bad to use.
-Am I going to be panning a lot in IE without text reflow? I usually browse/do everything in portrait and dont like landscape much FYI.
That depends entirely on the layout of the web sites you visit. On some sites, the tap-to-zoom works very well, and makes the text fill the screen (without reflow, of course) at a nominally readable size. But on other sites, it just doesn't help at all, and I end up panning quite a bit.
Anything you really miss about Android or iOS?
I've never owned either, so I can't say. However, unless things change I will most likely be moving to an iPhone within a couple of months. WP has a LOT going for it, but unfortunately (for me) it still has too many gaps in its features, and some of them are too annoying to just live with them and wait patiently on Microsoft.
I hope the features that I need do get added in future updates, because I'd be happy to switch back. But after reading the snarky attitude of many of the fans here, I can't help but wonder if that same attitude isn't prevalent at Microsoft, which would kind of imply that those features won't be coming any time soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My answers are in blue.
To be honest, from your questions, I would say you would be better off staying with android, don't get me wrong, i love wp7 and it does everthing i need it to do, but you may find some of the stuff you want is not available and get frustrated.
I just switched and am very happy! After two years on android, wp7 feels so smooth and coherent
IMHO, go to a store or carrier centre and request a WP7 and play with it, as from what I believe, everyone has their own preferences.
My advise would be to stay away if you're a tweaker, which is sounds like you are.
pillsburydoughman said:
My advise would be to stay away if you're a tweaker, which is sounds like you are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was though, but sometimes you get sick of constantly flashing roms, chaning things around, and want something that just works.
I'm happy that now it seems as if I have much more time since I'm not constantly fiddling with my phone 24/7.
I guess that is dependent on the person themselves though
What I am looking for info on:
-I use Android's file system to store non-market/root APK's to reinstall apps after wiping/updating the phone and such. I would like to unlock my WP for things like screenshot utilities; how does that whole scene work in a quick summary? I know about Chevron, but how are these apps distributed, updated etc.?
*No, you will be stuck at your pc for deploying XAPs. However Dotcomp says there is a way to deploy XAPs from IE.
MS security is a complete joke, you can just download the XAPs from MS.
-How are non-native apps with scrolling smoothness these days in Mango? I cant stand the lag and stuttering in Android.
* Well get used to it, its the exact same on WP7. However there aren't many apps with long scroll list, most take advantage of Metro.
-Can you download from IE to the file system with homebrew? How about natively?
*NO, and no
-How does Skydrive work for installers/loading installers, PDF's and other non-Office files? Can you browse it like a filesystem, as I currently use it as a Network Drive on my PC anyways.
*Skydrive was a afterthought on this OS, my opinion. Works great for Office documents, OneNote, and pics. That's it.
-Does the universal volume setup become an issue? I use my phone as my PMP with headphones all the time, then I need it to be on vibrate for class and in general, also alarms randomly, and occasionally I play games with the media on. Will I be missing alarms or leaving the ringer on in class if I don't pay close attention or is it mainly just when going headphones to media? I dont quite understand how it works specifically.
* Depends on you. I'm used to multiple volume settings, so its a pain to me.
-Quick ways to toggle WiFi and screen brightness with homebrew?
* If you can call a wifi icon on homesreen quick, then yes, other than that NO.
-Back up options for app settings and things if a wipe happens?
*If on the go, NO. If at your PC, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19341502#post19341502
-Do you find yourself ever getting annoyed with the animations or the app list for less used apps that still get accessed once in a while?
* Actually the animations are what make this phone. They're pretty quick and elegant. I like the live tiles, but they ruin the glance and go concept, because I have to wait on it to flip.
The app list is horrid.
-How bad is board reader for browsing forums or the free reddit apps? They dont have great ratings.
*Board Express made by Tapatalk, is nothing like Tapatalk on Android or IOS. It is like a sick joke. The browser is faster on WP.
-Am I going to be panning a lot in IE without text reflow? I usually browse/do everything in portrait and dont like landscape much FYI.
* Double tap usually makes the text readable, but if the site has text and pictures you want to see, you're SOL.
Also if you like to read comments, or deal with a HTML5 website, you will find yourself having to load the full website a lot. I can't even get the smartphone version of mobile sites, IE9 doesn't render some correctly.
Anything you really miss about Android or iOS?
YES! GOOGLE APPS! GAMES!
Youtube on Android is the greatest, Lazytube comes close but you have to pay for it.
Im used to sitting on my couch and flinging websites and videos from my phone to the TV(google tv), impossible on WP7.
Custom SMS, ringtones, and email notifications. You can do custom ringtones but its a hassle.
I can say I like the Email on WP7, however its not instant like on IOS or Android.
Oh, there is no auto update option. If there is a app that needs updating you have to open the market and tell it to update.
---
All of that being sad, you could still be Happy using WP7. It just totally depends on what you use your phone for.
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my lady took over the vibrant, lol.
-------------
Another thing, some people say they get tired of flashing custom roms on Android. The exact same OPTION is avaliable on WP7. You don't HAVE to flash either.
there are no custom roms for my phone...
I was continually trying to get my phone smoother, and smoother on android.
I just don't feel the need to with this. Once again, just my own two cents. I never said that it would be the same for everyone
Thanks for the replies so far. It helped me get a better feeling for WP and it seems like I should really just wait for all the new OS updates like Ice Cream and iOS 5.x+/iPhone 5 before diving into WP. I am a slight tweaker of Android, but I don't actually want to do that very much anymore. I just want a phone that works and suits my needs. Android suits my needs, but doesn't really work great and it annoys me.
WP seems like it would be okay for me. Im not an app whore anymore since Ive been a smartphone user for several years now and I pretty much just like to be able to get the news, read some forums, text a lot, use yelp to find places to eat, and occasionally pass some time on leisure games. Android is pretty weak as far as finding decent games IMO and I think WP could actually be better in that regard (iPhone is the only one I would consider good for leisure games, but if Ive gotten by on Android this long I think WP could be okay, especially since I still would have an iPhone and Droid for those games). Right now, using Launcher 7 on Android I only use 2.5 screens of tiles so Im not going to have too much of an issue with the app list I think (Homebrew folders support will do me fine in that regard as I can toss all the leisure games in there also).
What I am still unclear on is viewing PDFs that are hosted on websites because its a situation that I run into frequently enough that I need it to be able to view PDFs from sites or Skydrive (Either one). Can I navigate with IE to a site with a link to a hosted PDF and view it or not?
Can I leave my phone on vibrate (no ring) and still play headphones without turning the ring back on in doing so? This would be a huge issue if not because I can't be having my phone go off in class all the time. I rarely take my phone off vibrate, so I want to make sure I can leave silent/vibrate on and still play Zune without turning the ringer back on.
Does vibrate mean that alarms only vibrate and dont sound? ie. do I need to take my phone off silent ringer/vibrate all night if I want to hear an alarm in the morning?
--
I like how well Microsoft has seemingly written WP and I think eventually it will be great after Win8 and WP8. Maybe I just need to hold off for those phones and not waste money getting an off contract phone. If Win8+WP8+XBOX+Live services doesnt bring very tight integration and some nice new features, I think I'll lose all the faith Ive put into Microsoft the past 15 years.
Mike415 said:
Can I leave my phone on vibrate (no ring) and still play headphones without turning the ring back on in doing so? This would be a huge issue if not because I can't be having my phone go off in class all the time. I rarely take my phone off vibrate, so I want to make sure I can leave silent/vibrate on and still play Zune without turning the ringer back on.
Does vibrate mean that alarms only vibrate and dont sound? ie. do I need to take my phone off silent ringer/vibrate all night if I want to hear an alarm in the morning?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With Mango both of these issues are addressed. You can put your ringer on vibrate and still listen to music, and even adjust the volume without affecting the "vibrate only" setting. However, when you turn the ringer back on, it will be on at the current volume setting, not what it was before.
Also, you can have the ringer on vibrate and still hear alarms. In fact, alarms are now treated as "special" by the OS, and they ignore both the volume and ringer (vibrate) settings. They start low, and get progressively louder until dismissed.
Mike415 said:
I like how well Microsoft has seemingly written WP and I think eventually it will be great after Win8 and WP8. Maybe I just need to hold off for those phones and not waste money getting an off contract phone. If Win8+WP8+XBOX+Live services doesnt bring very tight integration and some nice new features, I think I'll lose all the faith Ive put into Microsoft the past 15 years.
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Click to collapse
WP will eventually be fantastic, and the ecosystem will mature. But I have to be honest and say that for me it isn't there yet, and it is unclear how long it will take to get there. If your only option right now is to go off contract to get a WP device, I would have to suggest that you wait at least until Apollo is released (which, by all credible accounts will be Q4 of next year).
My reason for saying this is because each time Microsoft does fix a problem, they do an admirable job. But they need to (IMO) be more aggressive with their release schedule. Following the "one small release mid year and one major release annually" model isn't enough. There should be smaller patch releases to address issues, rather than making people suffer with them for 6+ months.
Mike415 said:
Thanks for the replies so far. It helped me get a better feeling for WP and it seems like I should really just wait for all the new OS updates like Ice Cream and iOS 5.x+/iPhone 5 before diving into WP. I am a slight tweaker of Android, but I don't actually want to do that very much anymore. I just want a phone that works and suits my needs. Android suits my needs, but doesn't really work great and it annoys me.
WP seems like it would be okay for me. Im not an app whore anymore since Ive been a smartphone user for several years now and I pretty much just like to be able to get the news, read some forums, text a lot, use yelp to find places to eat, and occasionally pass some time on leisure games. Android is pretty weak as far as finding decent games IMO and I think WP could actually be better in that regard (iPhone is the only one I would consider good for leisure games, but if Ive gotten by on Android this long I think WP could be okay, especially since I still would have an iPhone and Droid for those games). Right now, using Launcher 7 on Android I only use 2.5 screens of tiles so Im not going to have too much of an issue with the app list I think (Homebrew folders support will do me fine in that regard as I can toss all the leisure games in there also).
What I am still unclear on is viewing PDFs that are hosted on websites because its a situation that I run into frequently enough that I need it to be able to view PDFs from sites or Skydrive (Either one). Can I navigate with IE to a site with a link to a hosted PDF and view it or not?
Can I leave my phone on vibrate (no ring) and still play headphones without turning the ring back on in doing so? This would be a huge issue if not because I can't be having my phone go off in class all the time. I rarely take my phone off vibrate, so I want to make sure I can leave silent/vibrate on and still play Zune without turning the ringer back on.
Does vibrate mean that alarms only vibrate and dont sound? ie. do I need to take my phone off silent ringer/vibrate all night if I want to hear an alarm in the morning?
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I like how well Microsoft has seemingly written WP and I think eventually it will be great after Win8 and WP8. Maybe I just need to hold off for those phones and not waste money getting an off contract phone. If Win8+WP8+XBOX+Live services doesnt bring very tight integration and some nice new features, I think I'll lose all the faith Ive put into Microsoft the past 15 years.
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Click to collapse
Hi Mike,
Like you I mapped Skydrive as a network drive and simply drag/drop my pdf files there. PDFs are natively supported on wp7 once you download the official adobe pdf app.
The PDFs will show up on skydrive in the Office Hub. Infact if you use the Documents folder as the "root" of all your files and simple create folders within there, they will all show up in the office hub's skydrive folder. As you see I have a "PDF" folder with all my pdfs. You download them when you select it and it is saved to adobe's app storage locally on the phone.
Skydrive on the phone will also stream audio and video files! Sometimes my friends would share a video or some music with me and I'd be able to access it natively!
You can view any pdf or office document (provided it is in later version format i thnk office 2007 up) hosted on websites. It will download and open in adobe/office.
Also OneNote is absoulely terrific in the Office hub for syncing notes to the PC/web and phone. I use it extensively to manage my classes!
Hope this helped.
Mike415 said:
What I am still unclear on is viewing PDFs that are hosted on websites because its a situation that I run into frequently enough that I need it to be able to view PDFs from sites or Skydrive (Either one). Can I navigate with IE to a site with a link to a hosted PDF and view it or not?
Can I leave my phone on vibrate (no ring) and still play headphones without turning the ring back on in doing so? This would be a huge issue if not because I can't be having my phone go off in class all the time. I rarely take my phone off vibrate, so I want to make sure I can leave silent/vibrate on and still play Zune without turning the ringer back on.
Does vibrate mean that alarms only vibrate and dont sound? ie. do I need to take my phone off silent ringer/vibrate all night if I want to hear an alarm in the morning?
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Click to collapse
PDF's are just working fine. Just install Adobe's PDF app and IE will automatically hook them and forward them to the app. Same on SkyDrive, you can even zip those PDF's as WP is able to look into zips.
As for the sound it should work the way you described. Volume control is for everything on the device but the button for vibration is only for the ringer. So if you mute your device via volume rocker then everything will be muted. If you only press the vibrate button then only the ringer will be silenced.
Awesome, guys. Great replies. The volume issues and PDF issues seem like they would be fine for situations like mine. Loved the screenshots!
Really I dont see too many issues not to switch over eventually, as the replies here have quelled my main doubts. As more apps come and current apps are optimized theres very little reason to not switch for most people. Its just that damn app list!
Good thing there's homebrew folders now though!
Mike415 said:
Awesome, guys. Great replies. The volume issues and PDF issues seem like they would be fine for situations like mine. Loved the screenshots!
Really I dont see too many issues not to switch over eventually, as the replies here have quelled my main doubts. As more apps come and current apps are optimized theres very little reason to not switch for most people. Its just that damn app list!
Good thing there's homebrew folders now though!
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Click to collapse
thankfully the games go into your xbox live folder though...
also you can tap a letter to quickly bring up all letters where you can quickscroll from letter to letter to find apps you have.
scoobysnacks said:
thankfully the games go into your xbox live folder though...
also you can tap a letter to quickly bring up all letters where you can quickscroll from letter to letter to find apps you have.
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Click to collapse
and search too. I actually prefer the app list to iOS pages of icons. The applist I know exactly where to find it alphabectically using the jumplist. Need twitter? Tap a letter jump to T and its in that group. iOS its a "which page is it?' scenario.
The homebrew folders is also pretty nice. I use it for all my "News" apps and "Social" app but it doesnt have live tiles so it defeats the wp7 purpose of glance and go
scoobysnacks said:
thankfully the games go into your xbox live folder though...
also you can tap a letter to quickly bring up all letters where you can quickscroll from letter to letter to find apps you have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sayonical said:
and search too. I actually prefer the app list to iOS pages of icons. The applist I know exactly where to find it alphabectically using the jumplist. Need twitter? Tap a letter jump to T and its in that group. iOS its a "which page is it?' scenario.
The homebrew folders is also pretty nice. I use it for all my "News" apps and "Social" app but it doesnt have live tiles so it defeats the wp7 purpose of glance and go
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just planning on throwing all my leisure games (non-XBOX LIVE) in folders. Does the XBOX Live hub hold non-Live games too? I wouldn't really need folders if all my games were in the XBOX hub, but I was thinking that it was only for Live games.
Mike415 said:
I was just planning on throwing all my leisure games (non-XBOX LIVE) in folders. Does the XBOX Live hub hold non-Live games too? I wouldn't really need folders if all my games were in the XBOX hub, but I was thinking that it was only for Live games.
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the live hub holds all games!
It's a good thing too, I have a ton of games
scoobysnacks said:
the live hub holds all games!
It's a good thing too, I have a ton of games
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only drawback of the xbox live hub is that is missing the jump list. I'd really love to see it in there too.
On topic:
I'd really recommend you go into a mobile shop and try different devices. I for one came from Window Mobile 6.1 over 6.5 and Android (2.1 and 2.2) all the way to Windows Phone. First I was missing several things I know from my former mobile OSes. But once I got used to the limitations (which were a lot more before NoDo and Mango), I've never ever looked back. I'm a proud WP7 user. But it really depends on what you use your device for.