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Hey folks,
is it at the moment (in the future?) possbile to use a fullfeatured android-system without a google account/being bound to google? I love WM 6.5, because it comparatively is independent of any cloud stuff. Windows Mobile Phone 7 is very closed and lives in the cloud. So how open is android and to what extent is it spy-/adware?
Thx
My thoughts:
I was a WM5/6 user for quite a few years (at least 4+ years). I heavily hacked my WM phones to get the functionality I craved.
After fooling around with various Android ports to my HTC Titan, I decided to give the TBD Verizon Android phone (aka Droid) a chance when it came out. Since that fateful day, I haven't had a single regret. The Droid (and Android) is absolutely amazing.
Prior to my Droid, I had a couple of almost totally unused GMail accounts. I was resigned to the idea that to get the full functionality out of my Droid, I needed to move into the Google "cloud".
I have been amazed at how well everything flows together, now that everything syncs/baselines off of my main GMail account.
I'm not sure how functional the phone will be if you don't have a GMail account. Here is my (probably inaccurate) guess of functionality degradation you will face by not using a GMail account:
1) The Google Market may not allow you to purchase any apps. App purchases are paid through Google Checkout - Which is associated with your GMail account.
2) EMail integration is obviously very well implemented with Google. When a message is sent to my GMail account, it seems like I get it just a few seconds later on my phone. You can also set up your GMail account to poll any of your already existing email accounts from other providers. While not updated as fast as your GMail account, it still operates very well, and also color-codes which email account your messages came from. If you don't want to use GMail, the K-9 Mail app can work as an alternative to the GMail app.
3) Syncing with Google Contacts and multiple Google Calendars won't be available to you. The instant syncing of contacts/calendars is *very* useful, and works totally seamlessly. Again, updating a contact (or event) on the web (or your phone) nearly instantaneously updates the phone / web, respectively. You don't have to worry about losing contacts or calendars anymore. If you already had a GMail account with Contacts & Calendars, all that information is available on your phone within a minute or so after you have powered up your Droid for the first time. (Note: I do have some moderate gripes about how contacts are displayed & grouped on GMail & Android. I hope Google will be addressing these items soon). If your Droid gets damaged and you don't have a GMail account, you will probably have to manually reenter all your contacts / appointments.
4) Other non-Google "push" apps (such as Flight Tracker Pro) probably won't work since they need your GMail address to send their integrated information to your phone to update their app status.
5) Probably a bit of other stuff, but I'm too tired to think right now.
As far as my "who is watching my activity" paranoia level is concerned, I don't have any concerns at all about Google. I haven't seen a single instance in the months I have been using my Droid where Google appeared to be targeting any overtly obnoxious advertising in my direction. (However, if you are still concerned about ads, there is a hack to Android to block all ads). If I had any concerns, I would certainly trust Microsoft less (by a few orders of magnitude) than Google.
I'm not entirely sure how Google is making a lot of money from the Android adoption, other than having more devices natively using Google for searching (which can result in their advertising revenue). But from what I have seen, it is no worse than when you are using Google on your PC to do your web searches.
After using Android for months now, I can't ever see going back to WM6 again. WM6 was incredibly lame in comparison. Web browsing on Android is what I always hoped the WM6 platform would achieve (but never seemed to reach). Android is an amazing OS, certainly comparable to the Apple iPhone in almost all aspects, and exceeds WM6 in most aspects.
My advise would be to take the plunge and get an Android phone & GMail account set up. Try it out. If you don't like the OS (or Google cloud stuff), you can always return the phone within a couple of weeks for all the carriers, and go back to a WM6 phone.
The only thing you really need a google account for the Market. I have all syncing (mail, contacts and calendar) turned off and auto sync turned off. I believe you have to leave background sync turned on but that's it.
For everything else I use a hosted exchange account.
if you can live without google voice and google talk, then yeah. It is a fully functional OS. Market is not essential to core functionality and you can always install apks directly from sdcard as well as switch your search engine to whatever you prefer.
I have a question to all android users:
1. After i install an android OS how do i recover or transfer my contacts and calender events from WM 6.1 to android?
Try syncing your contact with Google sync before jumping to android, then you will have your contact list safely waiting at google servers.
There are many ways but the best one to my opinion is this. I have tried it and it is amazingly easy to use. Just a few clicks. Although I am from Greece and greek contacts are a little bit difficult to be handled, results were simply excellent for me. But you have to do it immediately because the android app is still beta and expires tomorrow. I suppose there will be a non beta version after that but it may not be for free
I forgot to mention that the above way of backup, can only handle contacts, sms, call log and bookmarks. As the site says "much more coming soon" but now it cannot handle calendar entries
google is great
google is great. I suggest every one can just use google to sync contact and calender. this problem solved!
Ok! I agree, Google Sync solves. I'll close here, anything send me PM
I've contacts that are stored on the 'Phone'. Is there some way to copy AND SYNC them in future with Google And Microsoft Exchange Activesync(Hotmail) ? Is there any app which does this ?
Any help guys ? Of late , xda doesn't seem to be providing me with some useful solutions :-(
And here we are , bumping once more.
Hi looks like you need help.
Well, I'd say there's not much in terms of apps that I know of that can do this all in one go (if anyone finds one, post it? If i find one, ill post it too), but I do know of a pretty simple way to do it:
1.) Using the built-in Contacts app or whatever other app that you want, export the CVS/vCard file of your current address book for your phone into your SD card.
2.) From here, upload it to your Gmail by either throwing the file into your computer and loading the file from your harddrive to their servers, or just do it through the mobile browser (if you have problems with the mobile website since I haven't tried this myself, try using Dolphin Browser HD definitely a great app)
3.) Viola! Everything should be synced and in order
It's true that this is not a one-click solution to your problem. There is one for HTC phones built into their ROM, but it has a bug which prevents syncing if you have the birthday field filled out or something like that. If you could tell me what phone it is, maybe I can help a bit more. In the meanwhile, I'll look for some apps. If you could make do with this for now, you should be good to go (though 3 clicks isn't really all that bad )
-EDIT- Forgot to mention, you can also use that CVS/vCard file and easily just dump it into Outlook. Another 2 clicks, but it ain't so bad now, is it?
-EDIT2- Well, after a few more searches, it seems that Google is supposed to auto sync contacts 2-way on all phones with their gmail accounts associated with the device. I don't know if they apply to contacts you've gotten through Facebook, but it does seem to work for the most part. As for the ActiveExchange thingy, I think this app might suffice if you're willing to shell out a small bit of money: http://www.androidtapp.com/exchange-by-touchdown/ Didn't test the app myself, so ask around first and read up on it (Google ).
If you're willing to shell out a good amount of money (hefty 25 buckaroos), here's a supposedly good app: http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-fea...-of-corporate-exchange-contacts-and-calendars
IMHO, if i were you, I would just stick to the whole 5 step process. Not sure if the ActiveExchange can accept vCards/CVS (never had to use it), but you save yourself 25 or so bucks. But, that's just my two cents on it. Your choice
~jojojohnson7410
Hey thanks for your help first off
I've a HTC Legend.
Ok , I get your point. If I sync it with GMail , will ALL the alternate contact numbers , group info , Facebook Profile pics , their birth dates be synced ?
abhishek_turbo911 said:
Hey thanks for your help first off
I've a HTC Legend.
Ok , I get your point. If I sync it with GMail , will ALL the alternate contact numbers , group info , Facebook Profile pics , their birth dates be synced ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have an HTC phone, so the contacts and stuff SHOULD be synced with your HTC account/google account too. Just in case, I'd double-check right now.
As for if it will back up ALL that stuff, the answer is yes. This is because vCards and CVS are able to handle various amount of data, so it should also be recognize by Google, at the very least (but its standard so it should also work with Outlook/whatever other program). The only thing that won't be synced is the facebook pictures only because they can change, but if you were to add your facebook account to your phone, it will automatically take care of this, so you shouldn't have to worry about it.
As usual, if you're willing to shell out a bit of cash, here's a solution to your FB photo problem. Hope everything works out for you
~jojojohnson7410
jojojohnson7410 said:
You have an HTC phone, so the contacts and stuff SHOULD be synced with your HTC account/google account too. Just in case, I'd double-check right now.
As for if it will back up ALL that stuff, the answer is yes. This is because vCards and CVS are able to handle various amount of data, so it should also be recognize by Google, at the very least (but its standard so it should also work with Outlook/whatever other program). The only thing that won't be synced is the facebook pictures only because they can change, but if you were to add your facebook account to your phone, it will automatically take care of this, so you shouldn't have to worry about it.
As usual, if you're willing to shell out a bit of cash, here's a solution to your FB photo problem. Hope everything works out for you
~jojojohnson7410
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will not be using Outlook , firstly. No , the contacts are not synced with the GMail (Google Account). I am under the presumption that only contacts SAVED on Google Account can be synced. Since they are saved on the phone memory ... I don;t know. But please enlighten me.
abhishek_turbo911 said:
I will not be using Outlook , firstly. No , the contacts are not synced with the GMail (Google Account). I am under the presumption that only contacts SAVED on Google Account can be synced. Since they are saved on the phone memory ... I don;t know. But please enlighten me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, well, if you check it out here, you'll find the thing you might need for the corporate sync since you're not using Outlook (my bad. like i said, don't use it too much) and if this link doesn't work, you might need an update then.
As for the Google sync problem, I did a bit of researching. Apparently, its 2-way syncing, but like you probably noticed, it's not doing so hot. After fooling around for a bit, I finally got it to work pretty well. Apparently, you need a couple of conditions set in place in order for it to work nicely:
1.) Have the GMail app and set it to use your default email
2.) Make sure that under Accounts > [email protected] settings, you check sync next to Contacts (and if it still doesn't work, then try also syncing GMail.)
3.) If your phone has a Battery Manager (mine does) make sure that the setting you choose does not put restrictions on sync! (if it does, then you'll see a lag between syncs. For me, it was 15 minutes)
Thanks to Darth_Penguin for the first two tips.
Last but not least, the strangest thing I've encountered yet: Export your phone contact's list and import it into Gmail at LEAST once. Here's the reason why:
It seems that Google is syncing your contacts that you make. It works very well and doesn't seem to have a hitch pulling stuff that you have on your contacts book. However, there's a flaw: it doesn't play so nicely with Facebook. Most of us have Facebook synced onto our devices and we forget about that. It's true most of our contacts aren't in our gmail, but that's because we never had all of those FB friends names in our gmail either. That's why it seems it's not syncing right. if you want it to, I would suggest this: Import your entire contacts into your SD card through the menu button in your Contacts program, then export it out. Sync that file with Gmail, and you should be good to go. Sometimes, we sync it to Facebook, but it doesn't mean it'll sync to Gmail. Haven't tested out whether or not you'll end up with doubles, but i'll update if i get a chance (planning out beach day!) =D let me know how it goes for you (but that should work. In the odd chance it doesn't, at least we've tried something)
Good luck!
~jojojohnson7410
jojojohnson7410 said:
Okay, well, if you check it out here, you'll find the thing you might need for the corporate sync since you're not using Outlook (my bad. like i said, don't use it too much) and if this link doesn't work, you might need an update then.
As for the Google sync problem, I did a bit of researching. Apparently, its 2-way syncing, but like you probably noticed, it's not doing so hot. After fooling around for a bit, I finally got it to work pretty well. Apparently, you need a couple of conditions set in place in order for it to work nicely:
1.) Have the GMail app and set it to use your default email
2.) Make sure that under Accounts > [email protected] settings, you check sync next to Contacts (and if it still doesn't work, then try also syncing GMail.)
3.) If your phone has a Battery Manager (mine does) make sure that the setting you choose does not put restrictions on sync! (if it does, then you'll see a lag between syncs. For me, it was 15 minutes)
Thanks to Darth_Penguin for the first two tips.
Last but not least, the strangest thing I've encountered yet: Export your phone contact's list and import it into Gmail at LEAST once. Here's the reason why:
It seems that Google is syncing your contacts that you make. It works very well and doesn't seem to have a hitch pulling stuff that you have on your contacts book. However, there's a flaw: it doesn't play so nicely with Facebook. Most of us have Facebook synced onto our devices and we forget about that. It's true most of our contacts aren't in our gmail, but that's because we never had all of those FB friends names in our gmail either. That's why it seems it's not syncing right. if you want it to, I would suggest this: Import your entire contacts into your SD card through the menu button in your Contacts program, then export it out. Sync that file with Gmail, and you should be good to go. Sometimes, we sync it to Facebook, but it doesn't mean it'll sync to Gmail. Haven't tested out whether or not you'll end up with doubles, but i'll update if i get a chance (planning out beach day!) =D let me know how it goes for you (but that should work. In the odd chance it doesn't, at least we've tried something)
Good luck!
~jojojohnson7410
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, the top most segment does not work. I have tried the last para. Here's what I did,
1. I imported the contacts to my gmail account by the vcf file.
2. All my contacts have come up but not their profile pic
3. Now what ? I did'nt understand this segment.
" Sync that file with Gmail, and you should be good to go. Sometimes, we sync it to Facebook, but it doesn't mean it'll sync to Gmail. Haven't tested out whether or not you'll end up with doubles, but i'll update if i get a chance (planning out beach day!) =D let me know how it goes for you (but that should work. In the odd chance it doesn't, at least we've tried something)"
ALSO, now if I want to 'sync' do I always have to do this way of exporting the vcf file ?
Okay the reason why you don't have the profile pics are because those don't get saved into the vcf files. Only textual data. The pictures came from facebook and unless you use an app or program or service, you can only get the pictures synced to your contacts by syncing with facebook. And as for the loading the vcf, you only need to do this once to sync all contacts from across all your services (facebook, gmail, etc.). So long as you only add contacts through your contacts app, you should have no problems with your gmail.
however, do note that if another third party app/service syncs in a new contact for you (e.g. Facebook), it will NOT sync with gmail as they don't support third party companies. If it's a problem, either sync your device with your third party company (e.g. Facebook) our just do the vcf trick I taught you every once in a while to synchronize all your services/contacts
~ jojojohnson7410
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Hi all Android and Google user.
Was just curois, since i cant get my head around why Gmail is better. I hear every Google user talk about that so i was kind of wondering why the fuzz is about, with todays standards that is.
Yes, i have a Gmail account, yes i use Live instead. Love the PC services they introduced now witch gives such a nice Outlook feeling (Better according to me) for free.
But i was kind of wondering why everybody is sweet talking so much on Gmail? I see them as 2 services offering the same and cant see why i should switch when i got a well known mail adress sincew many years back.
It´s a hounest question, so plz, no foul mouth talking. This is a thread for trying to get me, and maybe others to understand why Gmail is being regarded as superior, or basicly just better.
So, educate me, maybe you win me over even, who knows.
You don't have to download anything. Gmail works.
Hmmm, kind of short to give anything. Ofcause you dont need to download anything for Live if you dont like. It just works also. But there is some wonderfull tools as a compliment. Just try the Live Hotmail if you like. Think its great.
Anyone else could enlighten me more ?
Gmail is fast, when you have Google account has acces to many sites, like Youtube
Rafal.Sw said:
Gmail is fast, when you have Google account has acces to many sites, like Youtube
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by access to many sites? YouTube is a no brainer, but what is the other services?
Live also have access to a lot of services straight away, thats why im asking.
I.e. when you have phone with android you need to have google account, if you want to use Market
gmail quick and clean. havent found anything better.
on hotmail, the default first screen you see when you log in is some kind of advertisement screen with parts of your inbox.
On gmail, the first screen is your inbox - which is exactly what you want to see. Simple.
Threaded conversations on gmail are easier to read and keep track of than individual emails on hotmail.
on hotmail, the default first screen you see when you log in is some kind of advertisement screen with parts of your inbox.
On gmail, the first screen is your inbox - which is exactly what you want to see. Simple.
Threaded conversations on gmail are easier to read and keep track of than individual emails on hotmail.[/QUOTE]
Ahaa, nice points, thnx for the reply. On being fast, do you guys mean ots loading faster or somthing? The threaded thing is only possible with Live Mail on the PC.... i think, never thought about it, mostly use the nice client and there threaded there.
The advertisment i cant agree to on the startscreen for Hotmail. But the Inbox thing is a taste then i belive and maybe the thing maing it more likble to some?
One of the advantages i found with the start screen on Hotmail/Live is that it dedicates to what actully is happeing and from who you got a mail etc , so you can skip going to inbox if you like me have a lot of mails, and just sort through what you have that is new.
Also, you can if you just press your inbox from start screen sort mails from different categorys so you can look and delete FB notifications only directly for example.
Im getting to understand what your saying thouh. You like its just straight in to the mail box, not a mult purpose screen, and maybe other things? Except for the threaded thing that may be clearer to read in your browser, once in your inbox i see no difference between the 2, maybe for me who likes coulors have a bit more graphic ... or am i missing somthing again?
Anyways, included a pic for you to look at what i am meaning, thnx for the input guys, dont stop, keep em coming, slowly starting to get it. More details plz.
Or have we hit the spot here with just various tastes if it goes straight to inbox or a multi purpuse window?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/picture.php?albumid=4275&pictureid=14090
They are both very good, I just started with a gmail account has all my contacts saved google talk/voice google+ youtube marketplace etc but live is equally as good.
Gmail is quick, clean and reliable. Also you will need a google account to access other google services like android, youtube, maps etc so its a good idea to have one.
Other email services are also equally as good so its just a matter of personal preference.
I have been using gmail since it first arrived, and I like it. It is personal preference. I have a yahoo account and that isn't too bad either, and you get access to flickr and yahoo groups with that account. I have used hotmail too and it isn't too bad. I have not used live, but I have used outlook for years at work. Outlook is ok, but I am not able to access all of my email from anywhere on the net with outlook. Not sure about Live. With gmail or any web based email I can get to my email from pretty much anyplace, anytime, anywhere without downloading any application.
Gmail = instant emails + no spam, for me best
Gmail is quick, it has calendar, syncs contacts from your phone without you having to set or download anything and if u accidentally happens to remove all your contacts in the phone, then you have a restore function in gmail/google contacts.
Also Gmail has antispamservers running all the time, Hotmail/windows live mail doesn't (or atleast it seems not) . Gmail is more secure, reliable and user friendly, and combined with all other Google applications they have managed to get everything working together really smooth
I used to be a hotmail junkie too.
Gmail just seems to connect with all my services better.
I use both on a daily basis on my WP7 device, both are good however Live/hotmail has an advantage in the it is better for sending attachments.
Try sending an attachment using gmail with an attachment that is not natively supported by the device, its not there, however with hotmail/live it is. This is particulalry useful when emailing something to yourself (to your device) that you may wish to forward on for someone whjo is using a pc for example.
I once tried to email a cert using gmail, couldn't get it to open/save, however live worked no problem.
Just a small thing and it is purely subjective like many things in this world
lovly to see you taking your time to answer. Fun and intressting reading, and kudos to you typing it up a bit, im pressing the like buttons on you... if you care about it ^^
Mr ace56, since it seems you like to tryout new things, try downloading the new Live Mail thats inc in the Live Essential package and give it a spin, might like it since its free and pretty much a Outlook but better. But you need Win 7 to take full advantage of it. Maybe vista will work to, but any sane person wouldn´t use that =)
Do Gmail have the possibillity to use a client also of some kind?
Agree with a earlier post..... It just works......nuff said!
You are correct, I like trying different software, so I switched from Windows XP to Mac OS in 2009, so I guess I can't try out the Live email.
Integration. I can edit and sync my contacts to phone straight from my gmail account.
Simples.
So, as heaps of you already know, Google has killed off Google Calendar Sync, as of 01.08.14 (that would be 1st August).
I find this pretty irritating - call me mean, but I resent that these people can play with us like this, but I guess it's their commercial prerogative. (Not exactly a goodwill winner though is it?)
From my research today there are a few apps available, but none are really free - examples include:
Sync2
gSyncit
DejaOffice (CompanionLink)
OutlookGoogleSync
AkrutoSync
OGGSync
SynqYa
Go Contact Sync Mod
Local Sync
Outlook4gmail
I'm about to test Local Sync
It seems like the going rate for anything worth a look is about $20.00AUD.
Is there anything worth a look that is truly free?
What experiences have you had with free / paid solutions?
gbossley said:
So, as heaps of you already know, Google has killed off Google Calendar Sync, as of 01.08.14 (that would be 1st August).
I find this pretty irritating - call me mean, but I resent that these people can play with us like this, but I guess it's their commercial prerogative. (Not exactly a goodwill winner though is it?)
From my research today there are a few apps available, but none are really free - examples include:
Sync2
gSyncit
DejaOffice (CompanionLink)
OutlookGoogleSync
AkrutoSync
OGGSync
SynqYa
Go Contact Sync Mod
Local Sync
I'm about to test Local Sync
It seems like the going rate for anything worth a look is about $20.00AUD.
Is there anything worth a look that is truly free?
What experiences have you had with free / paid solutions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just found another one...
Calendar Sync for Outlook and Google Calendar
calendar-sync/index.html (I can't post urls...pppindia.com is the site)
Free and paid versions...
Imhawaii - you joined in 2007 so took seven years to post for the first time, and got a Thanks straight up!!!:laugh:
I'll have a look at that website and explore that option too. First glance looks good - have you tested it or any other options?
MyPhoneExplorer is good for syncing calender and also contacts
gbossley said:
Imhawaii - you joined in 2007 so took seven years to post for the first time, and got a Thanks straight up!!!:laugh:
I'll have a look at that website and explore that option too. First glance looks good - have you tested it or any other options?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh heh... yeah, i know... just mostly a browser for years - but this is a hot topic for me now.
I did test it out. It 'appeared' to work. I had a weird thing happen - some of the appts ended up at different times. I.e. a 10:00 appeared at 9:00. I'm not sure if it was my email client and how it connected to google. I was using eM Client for windows because it connects directly with google cal and contacts w/o a tool (Outlook 2013 didn't like my big mailboxes0. So, I'm still trying to figure out if it was something else.
On a positive note - It didn't screw things up too bad.... i was able to 'fix' some of the issues. However, I'm not ready to fully commit.
Here was my set up WorkPC(OL2010) > sync with tool from pppindia > gmail account > home pc(eM Client).
LocalSync
I'm using this - I think the tool has potential, but it's all very manual, and the QR Code option doesn't seem to work for me - so based on how I've been using it (and it could be "operator error") I find it clunky.
You need to open the software on your PC, then open the app on the phone. Then hit the Sync button.
I'm looking for something that syncs automatically, and will pay if I have to. But as I said, I resent paying for something that really should be free!
MyPhoneExplorer
Well I downloaded the Windows client for this app last night, and woke up to a PC with "BlockandSurf" to annoy me. I can't of course be 100% certain that the source was the MyPhoneExplorer download, but it's likely. Not the best start.
However, it looks like a comprehensive (Donate if you like) app. How much or if I donate will depend on further evaluation.
First syncs seemed effective.
Now to see if it runs in background effectively...
EDIT - Dev's response - to be fair I didn't notice the option to deselect the Adware option.
Hi Gordon
MyPhoneExplorer is free but i have to pay alot of bills regarding MyPhoneExplorer, because of this you will get a additional software offer in the software - you can easily disable the installation of the ad-ware tool with a click on "Decline". The donations helps alot, but its not enough to organize all tasks related MyPhoneExplorer. There are alot Freewares which do it this way. I am not fully happy with the ads, but its the only option to handle it.
Best regards FJ
One more to add to the list
Another one to check out...
Outlook4gmail
19.99 for a license...
pppindia
FYI,
Calendar Sync from pppindia is getting updates just about everyday. Looks like they are catching the bugs very quickly. One of the issues I mentioned above has been fixed.
Try Calendar Sync +. Best replacement for Google Outlook Sync
Hi,
You can use Calendar Sync +. It is an open source utility, completely free. More features are being added with every release. You can also make suggestions to include a feature.
It syncs
- Outlook-> Google
- Google -> Outlook
- Outlook <-> Google (Bidirectional, with option to select master calendar)
Future plan includes contact and task sync.