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Android vs Windows Mobile - Functionality

Just a quick question!
How do you think Android will stack up to Windows Mobile when it comes to functionality? Android will certainly look better and be much more finger friendly,etc, but will it be closer to the limits of the iPhone when it comes to copy paste (Android has copy paste, but dont know if it works everywhere), email, contacts, and such? Will Windows Mobile fans be dissapointed or feel crippled when using Android?
Ive played around with the Android SDK a bit, but i havent really gotten a definite feeling if the functionality suits my needs
Cheers!

Yes I am also looking for some forum information on this matter. I would like to know the opinion of anyone who has had a hands on experience with both OS's. Found a nice article in endgadget but I like user opinions better.

I definetly want to know too!
Here is what I want to know for the Droid...
Can you use it as wifi router?
Does it do push hotmail instantly?
Is there logmein support?
Does it work with orb?

i'm moving to Android when Acer A1 liquid is out, then Sony X10a.
Android got free gps navigation with realtime traffic! nice!

segadc said:
I definetly want to know too!
Here is what I want to know for the Droid...
Can you use it as wifi router?
Does it do push hotmail instantly?
Is there logmein support?
Does it work with orb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes
2. No, not that I'm aware of anyway, but you can forward Hotmail email to your Google Account to receive it instantly.
3. Yes
4. Yes
Anything else anyone else wants to know then feel free to post here and I'll do my best to answer it in a reasonable time.
I swapped my Touch Diamond for my G1 and I can do everything that I could do on my windows mobile (although I didn't have WinMo for long)

I've had all of the mobile OS's and always come back to windows mobile. Android is approaching windows mobile when you think of the ability to flash other OS versions and wide range of applications on an open system. But windows mobile gives me true multitasking ability like a desktop computer, and windows mobile can be edited and programmed to be something else. Through haret windows mobile phones can run haret and even android.

dashauns said:
I've had all of the mobile OS's and always come back to windows mobile........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I'm heading this way too. Android has been quite a disappointment to me. Initially I was very happy with my new Milestone that replaced an HTC Touch Pro running WM6.1. The performance difference was staggering, there really is no comparison between them. However I just find more and more things missing from Android/Milestone note this list is just a braindump, some of it's in Android, some of it's the packaging for the Milestone, I'm guessing you can tell the difference.
No Outlook Integration, I really think that should have been there out of the box, there are third party apps that i've used with varying degrees of success.
Restricted Video viewing. I used to use coreplayer to view just about anything on WM without any conversions. Now through restricted information on APIs needed to port CorePlayer to ANdroid I'm stuck with a lengthy conversion process when I want to put video on the phone.
No contact lookup while dialing from the keypad, I really miss that.
No note taking, or word editing apps built in.
Can't save attachments in email - wtf!! this is basic functionality, everytime I want to view a word file attached to an email I have to wait while it downloads form my mail server.
Can't foreward some attachment types - crazy crazy
Can't edit original text in replies or forwards - this is basic functionality missing
Cut and paste is awful - ranging from not implemented, to badly implemented depending on where you try to use it.
Can't switch an sd card without rebooting - I don't know if this is milestone specific but you actually can't remove the sd card without removing the battery.
Tethering, I'm using PDANet, I don't think there is a WMWifiRouter equivalent without rooting the phone? So I am using PDANets blueTooth Dun service, much inferior to WMWifiRouters Personal Area Network implementation.
Can't charge from my exisiting Solar charger (Power Monkey Explorer), thats a pain in the ass, not sure why it doesn't work.
Facebook Contact integration, it claims to have it but it just doesnt work
Logmein doesnt work for me, nor do citrix support it for gotomypc
I'll add more as and when.

dashauns said:
I've had all of the mobile OS's and always come back to windows mobile. Android is approaching windows mobile when you think of the ability to flash other OS versions and wide range of applications on an open system. But windows mobile gives me true multitasking ability like a desktop computer, and windows mobile can be edited and programmed to be something else. Through haret windows mobile phones can run haret and even android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you explain what you mean with real multitasking? what miss you on android?

Hi guys new to the forum and my first post
So I have both OS I just got a HTC HD2 Winmo 6.5 and a HTC g1 Android
To me the Android is a lot lot easyer to use then Winmo. And the Markit place is the best I have used. But the HD2 looks nice the layout is top notch but when I go behind the HTC front skine and in to the Winmo I get lost and it all so looks like my winmo PDA witch I dont like.
As you can tell im not realy in to phones that much so dont know the correct names for the stuff im talking about lol.
If I could have Android under the Htc HD2 skin I would be happy

Remote desktop software

Hey guys, Does anyone know if there's any decent FREE apps for the android that i can use for remote assistance? i work in IT and this would be very useful to me but im not willing to fork out cash just yet.
I know you can use VNC but this means installing software on client machines and setting that software upm which is no use to me.
thanks in advance guys

I have tried most and there are no good free RDC clients. (I started to write one myself but it was not very fun so I abandoned it.)
I would suggest biting the bullet and buying xtralogic's Remote Desktop client. At $19.95 it is the most expensive option but the controls on it are the best IMHO.
If you want cheaper ($7.98) there is Remote RDP by Walter Yongtao Wang but i find the controls are not as intuitive.
I know you said you do not want to fork out cash yet but the reality is if you want a good RDC client then for now you are going to have to pay for it. In the grand scheme of things $20 is a minor investment for the aggravation saved.

PhoneMyPC is the best one I've tried and I've played with almost all of them. Multitouch zooming makes it closest to what logmein ignition is on the iPhone. I think until logmein comes out with an Android app, it's the best bet even though it costs a few dollars.

yeah , i also use PhoneMyPC , works great , no problems

I have to agree. PhoneMyPC is extremely (surprizingly) fast and worked better than the RDP or VNC solutions from my testing.
I was very skeptical that it could perform well, but... call me a believer now.

Thanks for the answers guys, I'll try PhoneMyPc out first.
One more question, I would also like to Wake computers via LAN, Do these software's have the ability to send the "magic" WOL packets to wake a system up?
This is another feature i would find extremely useful.

Clearly my brain was not working last night. I misread what you were asking for. PhoneMyPC is nice but requires a client install.
If your goal is end client support and you do not want to require them to install an application you might consider UltraVNC single click for the client ( http://www.uvnc.com/addons/singleclick.html )+ a VNC viewer on android. While it will not perform as well as PhoneMyPC it has the benefit of being a zero foot print solution and works well in situations where the client may not want/be able to install applications on their system. I keep a build on my website and if a situation pops up that requires me to access the end user's machine have them download and run it.
Your request for WOL is a bit confusing though, which implies you are not going for end user support. What are you looking for:
- a solution to connect to your personal machine running in the same subnet as your phone
- a solution to connect to your personal machine from wherever you may be at
- a solution to connect to remote end users machines with a pre-installed application
- a solution to connect to remote end users machines without a pre-installed application
- something else.
WOL can be triggered remotely (with preparation) but regardless requires the machine to be set up properly and that you know the MAC address in advance, not likely in a remote end user scenario.

Does anyone know where can I get the PhoneMyPC installation file for the phone? I couldn't find any download link on their site.

On the market. search for "phonemypc". It is a commercial app (9.99 USD) so that is pretty much your only way to get it.

Trust me on this one, go with Remote Desktop Client from xtralogic.. I've been using it for nearly a year.. its the best RDP you will find, no client install needed.

PhoneMyPC is the BEST!
Wait... we're biased ;-)
I suspect the user base here is savvy enough to know much of this, but a few details for anybody who's interested.
PhoneMyPC uses a technology similar to VNC, but it's custom and generally performs better. It is a bandwidth-limited approach to remoting, and we chose this because (a) we wanted something that made no compromises on visual quality (no missing desktop wallpapers, no changed settings, no missing themes), and we see the trend in available bandwidth going steadily up for the forseeable future. This makes PhoneMyPC a good option for remote video, for example, because it is optimized for pictoral data rather than vector data.
RDP, on the other hand, is optimized for vector data, so typically consumed less bandwidth than PhoneMyPC, but much more CPU resources. It also has the advantage that it is built in to all Professional and Server Windows versions.
The biggest difference between the two however is how they handle the network. With RDP you must know and configure your IP, and you must update it when it changes (or use a DynDNS type solution). You must also know how to configure your router and other security mechanisms for port forwarding.
PhoneMyPC just works, because it uses our servers as a connection point between your phone and PC(s). You don't need to know your IP, or worry if it changes, becuase the PC will actually tell the phone what it's IP is every time you connect. You can use port forwarding to get a better, direct connection, but it is not required for the software to work.
Finally, RDP is a long-lasting, well established (and more or less un-changing) technology; that is an advantage from some perspectives. But if you compare what users are saying PhoneMyPC is at least as good, and it's new, still growing, always getting better, and we're not even close to done yet. That too is an advantage from some perspectives.
SoftwareForMe.com
Makers of PhoneMyPC

I've bought all of them, and I could never get Phone My PC to connect. RDC by xtralogic, Remote VNC Pro Android VNC work great (used with TightVNC).
EDIT: Any suggestions Softwareforme? Also constant f/c's when connected via wifi on N1.

eWallet for Android?

I'm looking for an eWallet app, like Ilium Software's eWallet for PPC, which runs both Desktop (WinDOS and/or Linux) and Android PDA.
Joe

joebacsi74 said:
I'm looking for an eWallet app, like Ilium Software's eWallet for PPC, which runs both Desktop (WinDOS and/or Linux) and Android PDA.
Joe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This looks good: Splash-ID. Has a desktop client as well. I don't use it so I can't say much else about it.
I personally use B-Folders which is a Free app and works great for me.

Security
I am a little suspicious about installing and using certain apps. Many state that they have full access to the phone and internet, meaning they can send all of my personal information elsewhere...and in an e-wallet application, that can be devastating. A goldmine for ID theft criminals... learn some code, and write an e-wallet application. Make it free and watch the information roll right in!
Can b-wallet be trusted? They are based in Spain and Bulgaria. Not much information out there about them.
Splash ID looks great and legit, but $30 is a ridiculous price for this software. $10 maybe for both desktop and phone.

Like the other guy said, B-folders does the exact same thing Splash ID does, and it's free, they are asking way too much money for that app

Have you considered KeePass?
Open source, no internet access (internet access not requested in the manifest upon install) & has an open source desktop counterpart too!
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-android-keepass-qtw.aspx

I was a long time eWallet user and contacted them recently because they don't have Android or WebOS clients. They said that they have no plans to create anything at this time for other platforms.
Seems like they are not doing well these days. I looked at Splash ID and while it seems okay, they way they license desktop software is insane and I hear that databases are not compatible with other version of their software so if you get a new phone you'd be out of luck.
I am now using CallPod's Keeper. It is very simplistic which I hate but it works with most major phones and desktops (PC & Mac, etc) I run it on my iPhone and Android.

Having used eWallet for a long time, on all platforms (pc, iphone, winmo), I hope they make ewallet for android soon.
Otherwise I have to find a new password program as well...
If enough people mail them, they must sooner or later make an android version
Otherwise I recommend lastpass(.com). Not ecsactly the same as ewallet, but really good. However, it requires internet access...

I am actually hoping for SPB Wallet to made for Android. SPB did announce Mobile Shell for Android so I am hoping they are gonna port more of their software library over as well.

I've been hassling Illium for ages about this, they don't seem interested in the slightest
**EDIT** Hang on, Splash actually charge you more if you buy the desktop and phone client together than if you buy them seperate! How does that work!?!?!

+1 for KeePass.
It is OPEN SOURCE and it does not require internet connection.
And it has desktop app as well, which is good.
For this kind of app which we use to store "sensitive information", I cant easily trust any closed source app.
That's why I am heading to KeePass when I got my Android device (ordered).
sd00 said:
Have you considered KeePass?
Open source, no internet access (internet access not requested in the manifest upon install) & has an open source desktop counterpart too!
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-android-keepass-qtw.aspx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Well your wish was partially granted eWallet Viewer.
You can sync with your windows PC and view on your Android, but you cannot add or edit.

awesome, at last..
Now hopefully they do a full version also.. I see a lot of WM6.x users switching to Android at the moment...

double post

Woo hoo!!!!
Finally!
Viewer is good enough for me. It sync's to the desktop too (I've even paid for an upgrade to v7 so this works )

I would like to introduce keywords like AES or encryption on this post. I have been looking on and off for days for an encryption package for Android and pretty much drew a blank, with a couple of notable exceptions. It was only through trying to find out more information about JointLogic (makers of B-Folders) that I stumbled upon this very useful discussion. I also deeply distrust the anonymity of these vendors. I am deeply sorry if I offend them, but these days we are used to look a gift horse in the mouth. JointLogic is trying to make us suspicious of Google with backdoors in their engine, yet we are supposed to trust an anonymous company in who knows where?

I read somewhere that an android version of Ascendo Data Vault could be out sometime soon. Anyone know if there is any truth to that?

FireWallet

wonsanim said:
FireWallet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...is a totally different type of app. Good addition to the conversation :roll:

worse of all, the viewer has no SEARCH function!!!
After 8 months and still not a peep.

[Q] Remote Desktop Client on WP7?

Hi,
Just started using a HTC Trophy but I cannot for the life of me find an RDP client in the marketplace or on the phone.
Surely its there somewhere?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
J

"PC Connector" seems to do this.
There will be more as apps finish going through the curation process.

That is what i worry, i cannot find remote desktop on the telco set...
so confirm the PC Connector is going to work like remote desktop???
PC Connector is a pay software? come with the box? or market place DL?

moonlightsg said:
That is what i worry, i cannot find remote desktop on the telco set...
so confirm the PC Connector is going to work like remote desktop???
PC Connector is a pay software? come with the box? or market place DL?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will be hard to find one of these because Microsoft doesn't allow full networking access. Unless someone writes a remote desktop app that runs over web services (weird but probably possible), or Microsoft opens low-level APIs, then there won't be one. In either case it might take time.

moonlightsg said:
That is what i worry, i cannot find remote desktop on the telco set...
so confirm the PC Connector is going to work like remote desktop???
PC Connector is a pay software? come with the box? or market place DL?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's in the Marketplace... $4.99, but has a free trial.

I installed the free trial but it seems RDP is not one of its features.

Just found this - choung . net / charlie (cant post urls yet)[/url] - which kinda offers remote apps over http, works well and will do for the mean time.
Hopefully see some official RDP support soon...

Iridox said:
It's in the Marketplace... $4.99, but has a free trial.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so this is from MS? or 3rd party? sorry, i don't have the phone right now so i cannot try.
but looks like it is for file download, Remote Desktop Client?

Live Mesh
Someone who has a windows phone (not me) should look into Windows Live Mesh. On the desktop, it allows remote connections to a computer that has it installed. On the website for Live Mesh, there's a picture of a little phone. Of course, it might be referring to just syncing files, but perhaps doing a remote desktop via Live Mesh on the phone is going to be possible?

I certainly hope that someone develops this; however I spoke with one of the develpers on the team at Microsoft and he confirmed that Microsoft has no plans to ship a RDP client.

Without socket support it's going to be a pain. You would have to pass everything through a http proxy. The Remote Desktop app on the market place does something like that with VNC. Hopefully the next WP7 update will bring official socket support.

Sorry...no. You can use the remote desktop function to get to PCs but not the phone.

Can someone clear this up, are we getting a RDC remote destop connection app for WP7 ???

No, it is currently not possible to create an App for Remote Desktop Connections in Windows Phone 7 as one would need the ability to access the Socket-APIs.
This might become available in future versions of the development tools.
What is a possible is to have a server somewhere that translates from the HTTP-Requests of the Phone to the RDP protocol acting as an intermediary. As far as I know there currently is no App that does this.
A homebrew software using a jailbroken phone should be possible as they have access to socket-communication.

just search remote desktop in marketplace, then you will find tada, a remote desktop client.
and its called *suprising* remote desktop. how hard can it be
I have it up and running, only it's a trial. software costs 15pounds
See: http://thefastmarket.com

Aerox912 said:
just search remote desktop in marketplace, then you will find tada, a remote desktop client.
and its called *suprising* remote desktop. how hard can it be
I have it up and running, only it's a trial. software costs 15pounds
See: http://thefastmarket.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats a VNC client, not a remote desktop (RDP) client.

Can't you just use a web based remote desktop client using explorer on the phone? Like free version of logmein.com or paid app gotomypc.com
I haven't tried it yet but I am sure it works might be a pain to maneuver around but I am sure there is a version somewhere that fits a smart phone screen size...
At least it's something to use until the second update in February rumored to release socket support maybe don't quote me on it.

the fastmarket remote desktop.
The problem: I use Real VNC from server side with password encryption - always on.
This app does not offer any encryption. Hope this will change.
If you are running non-free version of RealVNC, please make sure encryption is turned off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
K

makku12 said:
Someone who has a windows phone (not me) should look into Windows Live Mesh. On the desktop, it allows remote connections to a computer that has it installed. On the website for Live Mesh, there's a picture of a little phone. Of course, it might be referring to just syncing files, but perhaps doing a remote desktop via Live Mesh on the phone is going to be possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I asked on Microsoft's social site for Live Mesh and they said they (paraphrasing a quote) "Would consider looking into possibly maybe supporting Windows Phone 7 in the future". Translation "Dude, youre a genius! Lemme check."
Doesn't sound like it's on the horizon.

CozmicShredder said:
Can't you just use a web based remote desktop client using explorer on the phone? Like free version of logmein.com or paid app gotomypc.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Logmein free and logmeinrescue do not work as they require activeX controls or something (sorry I'm not a dev so that may not be the correct term...Im a XDA troll.) I have tried...
Can't wait for Sync/Mesh but I seem to have jettisoned RDP for logemin services and that would be awesome to have working on the phone.

[Q] New Remote Desktop App

I tried to test out the new Remote Desktop application in the marketplace. There weren't any reviews so I download the trial. It wouldn't connect to any my computers, and ended up throwing an exception then running out of time on the trial.
Anyone else have better luck? I really want an app that works with Windows' RDP without having to install any other software. It would be awesome to get Jaadu or something with that quality on WP7. I've used it on iOS and its a fantastic client.

Hey I just tried it out, but im not sure what the hell I am doing and what developer doesn't include a "How to" in the app?
Any knows how to use this windows 7 feature? I do have w7 pro...

I got the app to connect to my Windows 7 desktop at home so it does work.
I don't know how this app works exactly but there's no way it's doing a direct connection to your workstation or server because the WP7 SDK doesn't support sockets. It must be going through a proxy of some sort which may be a security concern.
The real RDP clients will come when Mango is released and sockets are supported. Until then there will only be proxy based clients found on the marketplace.
If you are desperate for a RDP client this one seems to work ok.

The first real RDP app!
I tried the app yesterday. It worked perfectly at the first try. I really need such an app.
Sadly after purchasing it, it did not work at all. But surprisingly sometime later it was alright again. According to the exceptions that were thrown it has to do with the proxy-server that tunnels the tcp requests over http.
The server seems to be a bit unstable but I guess they will improve it sooner or later.
So I think if you need a real RDP client for now just use it – it’s really working well as long as the proxy is up! It is definitely the best and fastest one on the marketplace. Of course under a security-point of view an app that connects directly would be much nicer (I think they will change it as soon as mango it out). On the other hand if it would connect directly how could you now that it is not also sending your passwords elsewhere (if you are not going to sniff the network traffic…)?
There are only some minor things which could be better:
- Ask for permission to run under lock only once - not on every startup!
- Pinch to zoom to be able to click with more precision.
- Better behavior for text-input. I sometimes can´t see what I´m typing.
But for a v1 version thumbs up from me!

waiting for real rdp protocol, that can be done only with socket support...