I am coming from Blackberry and therefore have high standards for email clients. After trying every workaround that I could find from forums, I sent an email to Samsung with my recommendations for future software updates. I am not surprised by the response. On a side note, I fixed the GAL issue by installing "Swift Contacts" from the market but in my opinion all of these features should be out of the box functionality in a modern smartphone especially if iOS has it. I am running Touchdown in parallel right now to see if it is worth the $20 but this phone should do these things stock. Am I crazy for having these expectations?
Subject: Email Client
I have had my Captivate for 3.5 weeks. While I love it for many reasons, and besides my major gripe with the GPS performance, I continue to struggle with the email functionality as a past Blackberry user. The stock email client lacks many basic features that Blackberry and iPhone have. Is there any plan to fix the following basic Smartphone/Activesync functionality in an upcoming software update?
- GAL support (global address list)
- Cut/Copy/Paste
- Move email between folders
- Meeting request Accept/Tentative/Decline w/ or w/o message
- Syncronized draft folder w/ exchange
- Create calendar appt. and choose'show time as' free/busy/tentative/out of office.
If there is a way to do any of these thing now, I would appreciate the instructions. Otherwise will these be addressed in future software releases? I am debating switching back to Blackberry really want to make this phone work for me!
Samsung Response:
Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately, we are unable to speculate when/if a software revision with this feature might be available due to the fact that this might lead to inaccurate information and confusion.
Please feel free to check back with us periodically for updates. We hope that you will allow us another opportunity to serve you.
Should you desire additional assistance resolving this, we invite you to call Samsung Customer Support by phone at our toll free number 1-888-987-4357 between the hours 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Central Standard Time.
Sincerely,
Samsung Technical Support
- Meeting request Accept/Tentative/Decline w/ or w/o message
- Syncronized draft folder w/ exchange
- Create calendar appt. and choose'show time as' free/busy/tentative/out of office.
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I'm sure there's an app out there for this stuff, but android is not a business oriented client and as such these are not things "normal" users would need.
I use the gmail app that came on the phone and it has cut copy and paste.
you'll have to define GAL, again the gmail client has access to all your gmail contacts, which is everyone I know since you can easily sync all your contacts with gmail (even phone numbers)
again, a gmail user, but gmail doesn't really have folders it has labels, which is more or less the same from the users point of view, and this can be done, moving labels...
apps are your friend, search appbrain for the things you need, ex: http://www.appbrain.com/search?q=exchange
hope some of that helps
I'm sure there's an app out there for this stuff, but android is not a business oriented client and as such these are not things "normal" users would need.
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Thanks for your feedback but I do not accept that Android is not business oriented and only for "normal" users. Many companies that are not on AT&T and therefore can't get an iPhone are allowing android phones form Verizon and others. iPhone can do all of these things and many other Android phones have much more client email functionality. For some reason this Samsung version is hobbled. If Android is going to succeed and eventually dominate in the market any new phone platform must have basic business functionality that is expected with any Exchange implementation using Activesync. If an app like Touchdown can do these things then the stock client should be able to. For Android to win it must work for both business and "normal" consumers.
Also, how do you have cut and paste in gmail? Are you rooted? I do't have it and have read many threads complaining about the lack of this feature.
A couple corrections:
1. cut/paste is there and pretty easy to use - if using the samsung keyboard, tap and hold the 123 key. Viola, you get a directional pad with cut/paste functions, that works very well.
2. GAL is available when composing an email. instead of typing a name, hit the search button near the name box; this will search the server - downside; you only get email address, not phone numbers
3. you missed my biggest annoyance: not being able to dial a phone number in a calendar invite/meeting - phone numbers and urls are not recognized as links. You have to "edit" then copy paste.
These are not android deficiencies, they are Samsung's. Other android phones do not have these problems. So hopefully a 2.1 update, or 2.2 will fix all this. If not we should have some Vanilla (Plain Android) Roms to use in the near future.
orb_526 said:
Thanks for your feedback but I do not accept that Android is not business oriented and only for "normal" users. Many companies that are not on AT&T and therefore can't get an iPhone are allowing android phones form Verizon and others. iPhone can do all of these things and many other Android phones have much more client email functionality. For some reason this Samsung version is hobbled. If Android is going to succeed and eventually dominate in the market any new phone platform must have basic business functionality that is expected with any Exchange implementation using Activesync. If an app like Touchdown can do these things then the stock client should be able to. For Android to win it must work for both business and "normal" consumers.
Also, how do you have cut and paste in gmail? Are you rooted? I do't have it and have read many threads complaining about the lack of this feature.
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I am rooted but I doubt that is it, I am running the jh2 update, that may be it, but if I tap and hold,i get the option to cut, copy, and paste. As mentioned above hitting 123 also works, and if you're using swype tap the swype key and swype right, to the "sym" button to get the same thing.
As for the other androids that are more business oriented, they just have different apps, which is why android is awesome, I don't want your features, and you don't want mine, so we just download different apps, and everyone is happy.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
screwyluie said:
I am rooted but I doubt that is it, I am running the jh2 update, that may be it, but if I tap and hold,i get the option to cut, copy, and paste. As mentioned above hitting 123 also works, and if you're using swype tap the swype key and swype right, to the "sym" button to get the same thing.
As for the other androids that are more business oriented, they just have different apps, which is why android is awesome, I don't want your features, and you don't want mine, so we just download different apps, and everyone is happy.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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If you are rooted and on JH2 then I would classify you as a super users. I understand all of your points and this is why Android is so great! But I am also very invested in Android now and want it to be successful in the market for the benefit of all users. A large majority of users are not power users. Buy an iPhone or a Blackberry or even another Android phone and these basic Corporate Exchange features are working out of the box. Most people do not have the skill or patience to try multiple apps until they find one that works. And most people do not want to spend more money to make their phone do the most basic functions. The Captivate is the only Android phone on AT&T that most corporate users would consider. Even if you don't want or need these features, many will, and it is Samsung not Google that messed up. Samsung should provide this high level device with the features to make it competitive out of the box. These basic features would not deter or impact the non-corporate user in any way so why not include them?
Do you have the "Copy Paste It" app installed? I even tried again and I do not have Copy/Paste in Gmail. What I mean is I cannot copy and paste from the quoted text. I can from the text I am adding. I know how to use the keyboard text select features. If I am missing something I would love to be corrected and figure this thing out!
These basic features would not deter or impact the non-corporate user in any way so why not include them?
Do you have the "Copy Paste It" app installed? I even tried again and I do not have Copy/Paste in Gmail. What I mean is I cannot copy and paste from the quoted text. I can from the text I am adding. I know how to use the keyboard text select features. If I am missing something I would love to be corrected and figure this thing out!
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I would blame att as much as samsung.. perhaps if att had more android phones instead of sticking with the iphone, we would have corporate android.... as it stands I'm just happy we have a high end android at all.
as for copying, no i can not copy from the quoted text, you are correct
alphadog00 said:
A couple corrections:
1. cut/paste is there and pretty easy to use - if using the samsung keyboard, tap and hold the 123 key. Viola, you get a directional pad with cut/paste functions, that works very well.
2. GAL is available when composing an email. instead of typing a name, hit the search button near the name box; this will search the server - downside; you only get email address, not phone numbers
3. you missed my biggest annoyance: not being able to dial a phone number in a calendar invite/meeting - phone numbers and urls are not recognized as links. You have to "edit" then copy paste.
These are not android deficiencies, they are Samsung's. Other android phones do not have these problems. So hopefully a 2.1 update, or 2.2 will fix all this. If not we should have some Vanilla (Plain Android) Roms to use in the near future.
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1. It is not possible to cut/copy/paste from the quoted text. This is the whole point for me. If somebody sends me an email with information, sometimes I want to copy a subset of that information into another email or app. That is not possible with either the stock email client or gmail.
2. For some reason GAL was not working for me out of the box and believe me I tried mutlitple times. I tried installing Swift Contacts and all of the sudden it worked. I can explain it but at least it works. Too bad it does not show the phone number.
3. I had not noticed this before but now that I have, I have another thing to be frustrated about. Thanks
Hopefully Samsung fixes these issues in an upcoming build otherwise I will be rooting for sure.
I'm still puzzled as to why this is not a standard feature of Android... After trying all there is on the market (even paid ones, for 15 minutes), I chose Grouptone. Some might not like that it sits in memory, but for me, that's a plus as it I don't have to remember to run it every time I assign a contact to a different group. I only wish it could handle (prioritize) multiple group membership. If more people would send this feature request to the author, perhaps he could look into it. He did fix a bug for me relatively quickly, when I found one.
First, I hope this is the right place where I am posting the question. I am in the fire service and I would like to create an app for droid, that would read a basic text message and display a lookup information from a xls document For instance, the text message would display the address for a call. The app would use the information from the text and display a map page number and a short text phrase (running route to the address). I.e the text message says : House Fire: 101 Main Street. The app would look up that address in the excel document, and display the attached information, which would be 101 Main street: Left of Central Ave, Right on Martin Ave: Map 305. Any ideas on where to start? Or maybe app like this exists already? Thanks in advance!
Hi, it's a very broad question so it is very hard to answer. The answer depends on so many factors:
- Do you have any experience programming?
- Have you experience designing/developing mobile applications?
- Do you specifically need to use xls documents? (what you want is better suited to use built-in maps app. i.e. take the text from the text message, parse it a bit for keywords if you want different actions to be keyed in on, and then pass a search string to the maps app).
If you have no experience with developing mobile apps, I'd suggest going to google and searching for simple mobile development languages and frameworks. Stick to ones which use scripting languages. Or you can go to freelance websites and pay someone to make such an app for you. If its very simple, they shouldn't charge you more than a couple hundred.
slivingston said:
First, I hope this is the right place where I am posting the question. I am in the fire service and I would like to create an app for droid, that would read a basic text message and display a lookup information from a xls document For instance, the text message would display the address for a call. The app would use the information from the text and display a map page number and a short text phrase (running route to the address). I.e the text message says : House Fire: 101 Main Street. The app would look up that address in the excel document, and display the attached information, which would be 101 Main street: Left of Central Ave, Right on Martin Ave: Map 305. Any ideas on where to start? Or maybe app like this exists already? Thanks in advance!
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Click to collapse
From what I am understanding here, you want something that will disperse Calls in the form of app alerts, with the two main purpose being alerting the recipient of the location, and also of the directions to said location... Yes?
to start with, figure out what exactly needs to be done and why and put it in writing
The first step would be to write down exactly what you're looking for this app to do and any other pertinent requirements (needs to work offline, speed requirements, hardware to support, etc.).
What you're describing so far sounds like a service provided by major online map providers such as Google, Bing, etc. If you have an address, you just key it in as a destination, and then if you have the fire station pre-filled in as your departure point, you'll get map directions generated right there. Is this what you're interested in? If so, then you can just open a browser when you receive a message and go to Google Maps or to the maps app directly from the phone and do it there.
If some of the details that you've provided are hard requirements (text message being an incoming SMS, .xls data store, precise data requirements, zero downtime tolerance, very fast response times, etc.) then the best place to start would be finding an acquaintance who can write phone apps (maybe some kid from a local high school or college?) and explain/show what you want done to them in detail and have them estimate how complex this work would be. After than you either hire that person to do the work or pressure them to do it for you as community service .
If you don't have the right people in your network or they're unwilling to do the hard lifting, then you should reach out to a contractor and have it done commercially. It's the same approach: explain what you need done exactly, then get an estimate, etc. Based on what you describe, it shouldn't be too complicated or expensive.
I don't recommend you do it on your own unless you have tons of free time and/or are specifically looking to learn how to write apps. You'll end up spending a lot more time than this project costs on the market, and if you're not really into it, it might seem quite frustrating for what seems like should be a very simple thing.
First off, sorry if this is the wrong section, I wasn't sure which one it belongs in. This is my first post on xda.
I may be totally missing something. Either way, I though I would share this and hopefully some developer can help me formulate a script to execute my idea.
I had an idea that I think would expose what I think is another snapchat privacy flaw, however this one may not be patchable without completely rethinking the way SnapChat functions. If I am correct, you could allow my script to run for a couple hours (or minutes depending on how well it is coded) and extract any snapchat user's phone number given their user name.
Here goes: When you add a user on snapchat, their user name will just appear as their username. However, once you add that person's number, snapchat locates their account and recognizes that you now have them added as a phone contact and as a snapchat contact, at that point it changes from displaying their name as their user name, to their name that you gave them as your contact list. (i.e. instead of "jnsmthr0x" it becomes "John Smith")
So. A script could allow you to enter the snapchat target's username, and given that snapchat is practically open source all it would need to do it keep entering a variation of numbers for a mock contact until snapchat change from displaying "jnsmthr0x" to "John Smith" and that would be the user's actual phone number. To simplify things a little bit, you could enter in which area codes the user may have. Assuming you know which area codes it could possibly be, you can run the program a few times trying each one, thus eliminating the first 3 digits and speeding up the process.
Again, I maybe totally off and this could be a stupid thought. But if not, and someone decides to help me code it (or codes it on their own), I kindly ask that I be given credit for the idea!
This was one of Google's most touted features - the separation of work and personal information while using one operating environment. Has this paradigm been replaced with the new "multiple users" garbage? I call it garbage because earlier versions allowed users to see both accounts from a single user space. Users were presented with a separate set of "work" icons that had a little red lock to denote their separation from the rest of the phone's storage. This allowed users to receive notifications from both accounts without requiring user-intervention.
Now, when I go through the Domain Policy setup, the "Create a new work profile" option is quite missing. This current "multi-user" implementation is an absolute mess if its purpose is to replace the "separate work profile" functionality. The single most glaring issue: your "secondary" user notifications are not received until you switch to that user. How is this even remotely usable for business folk? I guess we will have to keep our work and personal accounts on the same user for now?
I have attached screenshots of the Domain Policy setup from LPV79 to show you that I'm not crazy - a really important feature was completely removed/remade in favor of some useless trash!
Has Google said anything about this? Can we expect a "separate work space" to come back into play?
Until L is officially released, we're using the below thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2796217
Android "L" Developer Preview Help, Troubleshooting, Q&A
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