Hey gang.
I'm asking an honest question.
I used to use a Winmo6 device to run my diary-centric business using Kerio Server for OTA sync of appointments and contacts with my office.
When I migrated to iPhone I knew I would sacrifice the winmo skin with one glance calendar, and might lose some calendar functionality. I've made do since then.
I'm due a new phone. I'm loathe to pay Apple even more money for old rope when I'm sacrificing basic functionality like Exchange Calendar Appointment Categories which no iPhone PIM or Calendar apps appear to support.
I've been playing with Android and found that Touchdown and Moxier both restore this feature to my mobile device.
But WinPho is by far and away the nicest Ui i've seen yet.
Unfortunately the store demo unit that I played with indicated that the calendar app does not allow exchange/outlook categories and the appstore support for third party solutions seems limited.
Can anyone comment on this from their own practical experience and advise me please.
I'd love to think WinPho can win me back, but so disappointed that only Android seems to allow this functionality with its more open system. I'm looking for a business solution, and the best the phone store salesman could offer was "all our smartphones allow you to use Facebook!"
Sent from my HTC Flyer P510e using xda premium
SilverHelmut said:
Hey gang.
I'm asking an honest question.
I used to use a Winmo6 device to run my diary-centric business using Kerio Server for OTA sync of appointments and contacts with my office.
When I migrated to iPhone I knew I would sacrifice the winmo skin with one glance calendar, and might lose some calendar functionality. I've made do since then.
I'm due a new phone. I'm loathe to pay Apple even more money for old rope when I'm sacrificing basic functionality like Exchange Calendar Appointment Categories which no iPhone PIM or Calendar apps appear to support.
I've been playing with Android and found that Touchdown and Moxier both restore this feature to my mobile device.
But WinPho is by far and away the nicest Ui i've seen yet.
Unfortunately the store demo unit that I played with indicated that the calendar app does not allow exchange/outlook categories and the appstore support for third party solutions seems limited.
Can anyone comment on this from their own practical experience and advise me please.
I'd love to think WinPho can win me back, but so disappointed that only Android seems to allow this functionality with its more open system. I'm looking for a business solution, and the best the phone store salesman could offer was "all our smartphones allow you to use Facebook!"
Sent from my HTC Flyer P510e using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This might flame the hard core WP users and trolls but from experience, I have a WP and it's nice; it works good and does what it is supposed but from what you just said I take it that you want actual Phone functionally like on WM or Android. Granted that Outlook is easy to use, it doesn't work quite like it did on WM for one you can kiss plugging it in and using Active Sync good buy because it is not available on WP7. As a matter of fact you can actually kiss about half of your functions that are available on WM. My advice stay with WM as long as you can. WP is not WM you will be at a total lost if you switch.
Here's a good reference of Active Sync abilities of each platform. Windows phone already does most of what people need, more will come with Apollo in Summer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Exchange_ActiveSync_Clients
Ignore Sinister as he knows nothing about exchange.
I actually admin our network and exchange 2010 for our company...
Here is a review that touches on some of the features
http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/27/windows-phone-7-5-mango-review/
It does pretty much everything windows mobile did with exchange + more. The only thing it doesn't do is on device encryption, and show multiple appointments on the lockscreen or live tile (it only shows next but if you click on the live tile it will go right to agenda view by default.
Also not the above post by the person above this shows the policies it suppports. You will note it says attachments no - that means that the admin can't block attachments, not that the email client cannot get it.
Thanks for that.
I'm in the position where, unless I see a feature in action for myself on a demo machine, I don't know if it is really the same thing.
Can someone WITH the device, who syncs an ojtlook calendar via exchange, advise me of the following...
In Outlook2007 I have 10 categories set up and colour coded to help me identify job origins for my subcontracting and to aid billing. I assign my calendar dates such a category.
With iOS cal, and previously Anxroid cal, I can sync exchange, and create appointments, but cannot see or assign categories which means I have to go back to Outlook2007 to fill in the gaps.
With Touchdown on Android I can now not onlt see the categories in Touchdown, but I can use them and assign them to events.
I am hoping that WinPho can also see, display and utilise these Outlook2007 event categories. Is that correct?
Wikipedia entry for Outlook Mobile confirms calendar categories support, but how complete is it?
Sent from my HTC Flyer P510e using xda premium
SilverHelmut said:
Thanks for that.
I'm in the position where, unless I see a feature in action for myself on a demo machine, I don't know if it is really the same thing.
Can someone WITH the device, who syncs an ojtlook calendar via exchange, advise me of the following...
In Outlook2007 I have 10 categories set up and colour coded to help me identify job origins for my subcontracting and to aid billing. I assign my calendar dates such a category.
With iOS cal, and previously Anxroid cal, I can sync exchange, and create appointments, but cannot see or assign categories which means I have to go back to Outlook2007 to fill in the gaps.
With Touchdown on Android I can now not onlt see the categories in Touchdown, but I can use them and assign them to events.
I am hoping that WinPho can also see, display and utilise these Outlook2007 event categories. Is that correct?
Wikipedia entry for Outlook Mobile confirms calendar categories support, but how complete is it?
Sent from my HTC Flyer P510e using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, tested this as i never use categories in exchange. It DOES NOT support the colors for categories.
This review was post no do from pocket now but also says the same as it is now.
"The Calendar is another place you'll probably spend a lot of time since it's important that your smartphone help manage your schedule. A great new feature is support for multiple calendars from different accounts such as Exchange, Windows Live, and Gmail. You can set a different color for each calendar account. Categories do not have their own colors like in Outlook on the desktop. You might also notice that there are only 3 calendar views; Day, Agenda, and Month. Week and Year views are gone. I never really used week view, so I won't miss it"
Now some argue they want week view but if you use exchange you no as well as i that you really can't read week view very well if you have a lot of appointments. Month view shows days you have appointments but they are too small to read and it's really just for seeing if you have anything going on that day and going to the day by clicking on it to read it in full. The agenda view though is great and it supports multiple calendars on the same view ( i have 2, hotmail that i use for personal and exchange). Now each of these are color coded and you choose the color. I think the category you saw was for the contacts and not the calendar. It does have the todo and in settings you can make your tasks show up in the calendar. I also tested categories in todo and it makes no difference. It does however allow you to show the tasks in the calendar if you go to settings and set it to show todo's.
I am thinking most built in apps do not show categories as touchdown was 3rd party.
It also supports out of office assistant and for meetings there is a quick i'm running late button that will send everyone in the meeting a message that you are running late for a meeting.
It also supports searching the GAL in your contacts "search outlook directory" if you don't have a contact locally.
Oh and for categories, i never used colors. instead i, myself usually make it part of the appointment like - Meeting with consumer - billable, or meeting with consumer - non-billable
Reason being in outlook you can search for everything with the word billable or non-billable for reference and it will display all of them as a list. (Nice for printing) with start and end time / date. i don't think that i know of you can show only certain categories. This may or may not work for you though. Just the way i do it.
If you have any other questions with exchange, i'd be glad to answer them truthfully.
oh btw at my office we use outlook 2010 and exchange 2010 so it's not the version of outlook you are using that doesn't do the categories. it's the phone.
Related
I'm frustrated with the Samsung Galaxy S' calendar. My important appointments make a little low *bip* sound and that's about it. I tried to use Calendar Snooze, but I can't get it to work. Apparently you should be able to select snooze option from the Calendar app but it doesn't work because no such option is available on my phone. Changing the sounds in the phone settings makes no difference. Any ultra mega hacker who knows how to take control over the calendar notifications?
yes, this is a bug or not but a very tiresome. i need this knowledge too how can i change.
Mine uses the default notification sound.
Menu-> Settings -> Sound & Display -> Notification ringtone, pick one.
I take that back. I used Calendar Notifier from Market to solve that specifically without rooting. You could also root and replace the TouchWiz calendar with the Android stock calendar.apk. the instructions, etc are here
when syncing with exchange, docs attached to meeting notices don't show up as downloadable like they do in email. Anyone know of a way around this or a Calendar alternative that does recoginize attachements embedded in calendar appointments?
nobody can share any insight on this?
since nobody responded to my question, just wanted to update and say that as of now the only work around i've found is to download the attachment(s) while the meeting notice is still an email (i.e. before you accept it so its added to your calendar). If anyone has a suggestion for a better way of handling embedded docs in calendar appointments, i'm all ears. Thanks.
Google Calendar Sync <-> Outlook
jblade1000 said:
when syncing with exchange, docs attached to meeting notices don't show up as downloadable like they do in email. Anyone know of a way around this or a Calendar alternative that does recoginize attachements embedded in calendar appointments?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, on my business laptop with MS Windows and Outlook 2010 I use a tool named "Google Calendar Sync" to synchronize Outlook calender with my Google calender. Just search on Google for "Getting started with Google Calendar Sync".
Another way to get Outlook stuff synchronized with your Galaxy S is to use your Exchange account. But I don't want to use exchange on my Galaxy S because of battery drain. So this tool is a good compromise ;-)
Hi, here are my two cents: I'm using Touchdown for syncing my company MS Exchange account. It does download the meeting attachments when viewing mails/meeting notes, so this might help you out.
It is quite expensive (around 14 euro) but it is by far better than the stock exchange app and the support is perfect when mailing them. The other plus is that you can set whether you want to pull or push at certain times.
Having said that there are some downsides as well: the UI is (mildly said) very basic and its calendar looks like the programs from the 80s (but there are a few market calendar apps which one can use to view the meetings list)
Hmm.. I agree that this sounds pretty much like spamming but cross my heart: I'm just a happy Touchdown user (using some other apps as well to make my daily life organized) sharing my experience.
I hope that this answer your help call.
Cheers,
Rocky
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I don't use Outlook but my dad does. As his android tech advisor I am at a loss trying to find a good solution for syncing his Outlook to his phone.
It seems like there would be a good solution for this but everything I've found is either a half-baked email-and-contacts-only job and requires paying for Exchange service (paying for apps or Exchange service is not a problem if it works well, but the reviews are not favorable)
If a good reliable Outlook sync option does not currently exist what would be involved in making one?
I don't understand the need to sync with outlook when one can sync with Google automatically.
The htc sync software syncs with outlook. It comes with new phones on the sd card or can be downloaded from the htc site.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
[email protected] said:
I don't understand the need to sync with outlook when one can sync with Google automatically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand your point. It sounds like you're suggesting he stop using outlook and switch to google for email, contacts, calendar, notes, tasks, etc.
He uses Outlook (as many people do) and does not see google as a comparable alternative.
While it works fine as the account he uses to manage the phone he has no intention of migrating away from Outlook, at least not to Google, not for such business critical purposes.
johncjenc said:
The htc sync software syncs with outlook. It comes with new phones on the sd card or can be downloaded from the htc site.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I edited the thread title..
nebenezer said:
I don't understand your point. It sounds like you're suggesting he stop using outlook and switch to google for email, contacts, calendar, notes, tasks, etc.
He uses Outlook (as many people do) and does not see google as a comparable alternative.
While it works fine as the account he uses to manage the phone he has no intention of migrating away from Outlook, at least not to Google, not for such business critical purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think what he was trying to say is that you can use Google Sync to sync between Outlook & your android phone via Google's cloud. Something that I do as well. But it may not be as in depth as you're seeking.
Here is an article from PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/200654/sync_outlook_with_your_google_calendar.html
For a paid app that does it all, here's a review of an app in the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/15/AR2010071504701.html
Hey Nebenezer,
I realize this may be a bit late for you but maybe better late than never.
I'm in the same boat as you (advisor to my brother).
I found and tested Deja Office by Companionlink (Companionlink USB @ $39.99 - did not see need for pro @$99.99.)
After testing it a bit it looked like it fit the bill. I put my brother on it and he's used it thru the trial well enough and so bought it. I think it's about 3 weeks now. He's happy with it.
I didn't have the same need to stay with outlook but since I tested these are the main points I noted:
Requires using their own suite of apps on the phone
Does not use the stock phone's DBs
DOES sync contacts [optionally] with the phones contacts
NOT SURE if it syncs CALENDAR to phone's calendar (I suspect it does but I didn't test and my brother does not need/want it)
It's up to the user to make sure contacts/calendar dont get sucked into the google cloud (if you don't wan't that as in my brother's case) as a result of syncing with the phone's contacts/calendar
USB cable sync (not wifi as you asked for)
The using of their own apps (which are really a suite in one app so has it's own "launcher" screen) turns out to be less of a pain in the ass than I thought it would be (I found shortcuts to each individual 'app' so no need to deal w/ their 'launcher' screen). My brother does not find it bothersome at all.
The apps also hove a bit more of an Outlook-centric feel and fields mapping so he liked it (you can see the android apps, btw, for free from the Market - search Deja Office - you only pay for the PC Sync side)
I should note that my brother spends most of his time in Outlook on the the desktop rather than on the phone (my usage pattern is the inverse) so let your dad use it and decide if he likes it. As always, ymmv.
Hope that helps you and your dad. It's at least worth giving a look.
Btw, I forgot to mention, it does NOT deal w/ email. Only Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes. I liked that model because email can be easily handled using IMAP or Gmail (which my brother uses) and so no requirement for Exchange.
Conversely, it does not support Exchange iirc, so Exchange users my need a different solution.
hth someone,
J.
This question has been raised many times, but I couldn't find a single definite answer. To sync with Outlook there is software like Touchdown (albeit only for MS Exchange) and cloud services like Soocial and Funambol. Now, how do you sync ALL fields in Contacts, for example, if they are not 100% identical with Google? The later lets you name your phone numbers, for example which is impossible in Outlook. I am using Outlook both for business and personal, and it would be very difficult to move away from it, especially as my company uses it for business. However, I find WM 6.5, or Windows Phone 7, or Blackberry not particularly suited for my personal needs. So I bought Optimus 2X, but I have not started using it, because I don't know how to painlessly migrate to it from HTC Touch Diamond 2 with WM 6.5, which is seamlessly integrated with Outlook. I have about 1600 well-organized contacts, many tasks, recurring calendar items, almost all of them with applied custom-made Outlook categories. Filtering and sorting by categories really simplifies things. I am daunted by the task of re-categorizing all of my outlook items by hand. But I need to start using Android somehow AND desktop and laptop versions of MS Outlook with the categories I have set up. What is the least painful way to do it? I can't believe there's only me faced with this problem. Thanks for your help!
I set up my wife's droid with CompanionLink / Google. Don't know about categories or syncing with exchange, as she only uses local outlook. Checkout CompanionLink if you haven't already.
I received my HTC 7 Pro over the weekend. It looks nice, runs fine. I upgraded to Mango Beta. That made it even better. I ordered a 32GB microSD to get the storage the phone deserves. So, I'm excited about my new toy. And then I tried to sync to Outlook.
It seems incredibly strange that on this website chock full of staunch individualists that no one is ranting about being forced to use MS Hotmail and the MS cloud invironment as the only method of allowing a 'Pro' phone to be synchronized with Outlook contacts and calendar. And what about all of the music and files I have on my PC? It isn't rational that I should have to pass 10-20GB of stuff through the MS cloud just because MS have decided that is how they want to manage phone synchronization. I do not want another public e-mail address and I certainly do not want to push my business correspondence through one.
[I have just deleted a lengthy rant about MS from here. Suffice it to say I am really dissatisfied with MS and their apparent business intent.]
I like the HTC 7 Pro but I really need to be able to connect a USB cable and transfer my own stuff like I can on any other phone.
So I am looking to all of you for help/advice. If there is no way to synchronize Phone 7 with my laptop then I am perfectly willing to downgrade back to WM6.5 or switch to Android. I just need to know what my options are.
I kept all my packing material. If there is no solution then I will return the phone and get the nearest Android equivalent.
Thanks in advance for your help.
--Steve
Your media can all be transferred using Zune, direct from your computer, wired or over WiFi (after a wired sync you can set the phone to automatically sync when it's plugged in and doing nothing)
Regarding Outlook, I don't know of a single person that doesn't use Exchange or Google, both of which can be used to synchronise mail, calendar, contacts and i believe tasks between computer and mobile device. This is so much more advantageous than 'direct by wire' syncing that I'm surprised you are that concerned. If anything it's good practice to have a backup of these things...
shrines said:
I received my HTC 7 Pro over the weekend. It looks nice, runs fine. I upgraded to Mango Beta. That made it even better. I ordered a 32GB microSD to get the storage the phone deserves. So, I'm excited about my new toy. And then I tried to sync to Outlook.
It seems incredibly strange that on this website chock full of staunch individualists that no one is ranting about being forced to use MS Hotmail and the MS cloud invironment as the only method of allowing a 'Pro' phone to be synchronized with Outlook contacts and calendar. And what about all of the music and files I have on my PC? It isn't rational that I should have to pass 10-20GB of stuff through the MS cloud just because MS have decided that is how they want to manage phone synchronization. I do not want another public e-mail address and I certainly do not want to push my business correspondence through one.
[I have just deleted a lengthy rant about MS from here. Suffice it to say I am really dissatisfied with MS and their apparent business intent.]
I like the HTC 7 Pro but I really need to be able to connect a USB cable and transfer my own stuff like I can on any other phone.
So I am looking to all of you for help/advice. If there is no way to synchronize Phone 7 with my laptop then I am perfectly willing to downgrade back to WM6.5 or switch to Android. I just need to know what my options are.
I kept all my packing material. If there is no solution then I will return the phone and get the nearest Android equivalent.
Thanks in advance for your help.
--Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea nothing wrong with using the cloud at all. there's also even a hotmail-outlook connector, you are not being "forced" to use hotmail at all ur more than welcome to use ur exchange email to sync ur contacts but u do need a live ID to use the marketplace and Zune. android has this similar practice where u need a Gmail account to even be able to use it period. MS is not going to spy on ur emails or call ur contacts and ur information isn't any less safe on the cloud than it is on ur PC.
Thanks for the replies, folks, but it appears that I have not made myself clear. I have over 2000 contacts due to industry committee activities and customers. I have four email accounts within Outlook, only one of which is an Exchange account. I travel extensively. The MS instructions for moving my contacts to my phone 7 include having to import all of those not on the Exchange server to HotMail using CSV formats. There is no automatic update thereafter. Zune will only update the phone calendar from one 'primary' calendar.
I am in Ireland today and I was unable to sync with Zune because it expected me to change my location/region settings to match my current location (I live in Germany). When I changed my location to Ireland I was informed that my Zune would not work due to restrictions (content licensing, I assume). The same is true if I select Worldwide English. If I switch back my location back to Germany there are no English pages available but I still can't sync.
Many places I visit have no wired or wireless Internet and roaming charges are outrageous. So how do I keep my phone contacts, calendar and files up-to-date with my Outlook through all this?
All I did with WM 6.5 was plug my phone in to my laptop and ActiveSync took care of the update. No more.
And I still haven't been able to sync my phone.
It really looks like Phone 7 is focused on social sites and trying to sell me stuff rather than addressing my needs as a business user.
shrines said:
Thanks for the replies, folks, but it appears that I have not made myself clear. I have over 2000 contacts due to industry committee activities and customers. I have four email accounts within Outlook, only one of which is an Exchange account. I travel extensively. The MS instructions for moving my contacts to my phone 7 include having to import all of those not on the Exchange server to HotMail using CSV formats. There is no automatic update thereafter. Zune will only update the phone calendar from one 'primary' calendar.
I am in Ireland today and I was unable to sync with Zune because it expected me to change my location/region settings to match my current location (I live in Germany). When I changed my location to Ireland I was informed that my Zune would not work due to restrictions (content licensing, I assume). The same is true if I select Worldwide English. If I switch back my location back to Germany there are no English pages available but I still can't sync.
Many places I visit have no wired or wireless Internet and roaming charges are outrageous. So how do I keep my phone contacts, calendar and files up-to-date with my Outlook through all this?
All I did with WM 6.5 was plug my phone in to my laptop and ActiveSync took care of the update. No more.
And I still haven't been able to sync my phone.
It really looks like Phone 7 is focused on social sites and trying to sell me stuff rather than addressing my needs as a business user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is totally incorrect! on wp7 u can add as many exchange accounts as u want and it will sync them and keep them updated vs on wm6.5 and android u can have one, and those contacts that aren't on exchange u can easily add them or import them it is no big deal at all. all the calendars are also updated, on my arrive with the mango beta I have 2 live accounts setup and my Facebook account and it syncs ALL my appointments accordingly to which account they originated from. Zune does not sync any of this, Zune only syncs pictures,videos and music.
Forgive me, but reading that sounds like you haven't actually used the software.
Zune only deals with multimedia and updates - nothing to do with calendars, contacts, or mail.
You can have as many accounts as you like on the phone, they ALL synchronise everything, and in the calendar app every accounts' calendar appears and has a different colour attached to it (mine, for example, highlights Exchange in red, Google in Blue, and Facebook in green, and they all appear together so I know when I'm actually available)
I don't understand how having a thousand contacts is a problem? You can sync contacts from Google, Exchange, or Windows Live into Outlook, then it's a case of using that most amazing of things as Copy and Paste, then the cloud takes care of your syncing.
Travelling a lot, it makes sense to me to just let the phone deal with the sync - when something changes, it gets pushed to the phone automatically, and if you change something on the phone it's pushed to the cloud, where your computer picks it up automatically.
You sound like the perfect example of somebody who could benefit hugely from a push-sync service but doesn't want to...sorry to be frank, but that's just the way it seems to me...
shrines said:
Thanks for the replies, folks, but it appears that I have not made myself clear. I have over 2000 contacts due to industry committee activities and customers. I have four email accounts within Outlook, only one of which is an Exchange account. I travel extensively. The MS instructions for moving my contacts to my phone 7 include having to import all of those not on the Exchange server to HotMail using CSV formats. There is no automatic update thereafter. Zune will only update the phone calendar from one 'primary' calendar.
I am in Ireland today and I was unable to sync with Zune because it expected me to change my location/region settings to match my current location (I live in Germany). When I changed my location to Ireland I was informed that my Zune would not work due to restrictions (content licensing, I assume). The same is true if I select Worldwide English. If I switch back my location back to Germany there are no English pages available but I still can't sync.
Many places I visit have no wired or wireless Internet and roaming charges are outrageous. So how do I keep my phone contacts, calendar and files up-to-date with my Outlook through all this?
All I did with WM 6.5 was plug my phone in to my laptop and ActiveSync took care of the update. No more.
And I still haven't been able to sync my phone.
It really looks like Phone 7 is focused on social sites and trying to sell me stuff rather than addressing my needs as a business user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in the same boat sort of. I don't use Exchange, just MS Office an Outlook for my schedule and contacts. I only just got my first WP7 phone and previously I was a recent WM user migrating from my Axim x51v. Been using a PDA since WM2003. I really find it hard to fathom why MS would make it so that their products can't talk to each other. I've installed the connecter and still couldn't get it to sync up to Hotmail very easily. I've got my contacts in teh phone but still can't get my calender to move over.
My suggestion to you John would be to get yourself a Google account, which you can sync using the Exchange protocol into Outlook, and which the phone can sync automatically. That's probably the easiest way of doing things.
Hi all
Currently using an HTC Touch Pro 2 and was considering upgrading to HTC 7 Pro. Came across this post and am very concerned. Due to work data restrictions phone must be able to connect using ordinary USB cable. Is there no way that this can happen on WM7?
Thanks
Barney
P.S Was cosiderng WM7 v. Android and decided to stick with Windows (seeing as that is all I have ever had) This could be a deal breaker though, assuming Android phones can easily sync using USB.
My god where do you work!?
Unfortunately it would appear the draconian restrictions in your workplace are letting you down - neither WP7 or Android are designed to synchronise PIM data over USB. HTC have bodged together a not-fantastic workaround for Android which is probably your only choice...
Edit: By connect, what do you mean? Obviously any phone can connect, just not necessarily sync.
I do mean syncing of data (calendar, tasks, contacts, notes) over a USB cable. I gather there are apps that work on Android that allow this even though native android doesn't.
Looks like its going to have to be Android then. Looking at Samsung Galaxy S2 just now. Got another couple of months so Microsoft may sort this but somehow I don't think they will - must admit not sure why not, their mobile phone sales have dropped a lot over the past few years and with this sort of design I now know why. Been using them for around 7 years now but looks like I will be forced to move away.
Cheers
Barney
Edit: I gather that the iPhone natively supports direct sync to Microsoft Outlook - shudder, now having to include that in my shortlist! How did Microsoft get it soooo wrong!!!
Barneyabz said:
I do mean syncing of data (calendar, tasks, contacts, notes) over a USB cable. I gather there are apps that work on Android that allow this even though native android doesn't.
Looks like its going to have to be Android then. Looking at Samsung Galaxy S2 just now. Got another couple of months so Microsoft may sort this but somehow I don't think they will - must admit not sure why not, their mobile phone sales have dropped a lot over the past few years and with this sort of design I now know why. Been using them for around 7 years now but looks like I will be forced to move away.
Cheers
Barney
Edit: I gather that the iPhone natively supports direct sync to Microsoft Outlook - shudder, now having to include that in my shortlist! How did Microsoft get it soooo wrong!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all over USB sync? u gotta be kidding. I ain't even going to bother with proving how dumb this post sounds.
eric12341 said:
all over USB sync? u gotta be kidding. I ain't even going to bother with proving how dumb this post sounds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 - couldn't agree more. These phones are made almost entirely for the internet.
eric12341 said:
all over USB sync? u gotta be kidding. I ain't even going to bother with proving how dumb this post sounds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think you missed my earlier post - feel free to look for it. Point is that work restrictions mean I will not be allowed to sync via the cloud. As I said in my earlier post, not going to argue or debate whether this is good or bad, no point.
Therefore I am now left with Android or iphone unless Microsoft get this sorted.
By the way Google it and you will see that it is proving to be a major sticking point with business users and is turning users away from windows phone 7 with more windows mobile 6.5 phones still being sold then windows 7 with this being one of the reasons.
cheers
Barney
Barneyabz said:
Think you missed my earlier post - feel free to look for it. Point is that work restrictions mean I will not be allowed to sync via the cloud. As I said in my earlier post, not going to argue or debate whether this is good or bad, no point.
Therefore I am now left with Android or iphone unless Microsoft get this sorted.
By the way Google it and you will see that it is proving to be a major sticking point with business users and is turning users away from windows phone 7 with more windows mobile 6.5 phones still being sold then windows 7 with this being one of the reasons.
cheers
Barney
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
alot of workplaces support exchange server synching of contacts and the like, there's also a hotmail-outlook connector that will sync content back n forth accordingly,so I didn't miss anything.
really not picking an arguement - not sure if you are.
However for information sake only, for others that might read this thread, using hotmail connector means uploading and downloading all the info via Microsoft servers, and the other option of microsoft exchange, well not all firms use exchange.
Therefore if a company does not agree to one of these methods it means Windows Phone 7 is not an option
Barney
Here's my set-up:
Hotmail account (had for "ever") that I use to access MS services such as XBox Live, Skydrive, etc. --- this has become my centralized sync point just because it was empty and is well integrated
Personal domain accounts hosted with Google Apps --- these all sync to my WP7 phone
Various Gmail accounts --- again, all synced to my WP7 phone
Yahoo account --- again, synced to my WP7
Work calendar (not interested in getting e-mails) --- using Google Sync, my work calendar is pushed to one of my Gmail accounts.....so all of my appointments appear on my phone (http://www.google.com/mobile/sync/)
Facebook --- synced as well.
All total, I have 10 accounts listed in the settings. All of them sync flawlessly. All of my information is stored where I want it and blended on my phone. Contacts from my personal domain that are related to side business are available on my phone but aren't stored on my hotmail account. Contacts in Yahoo don't show up in my side-business e-mail accounts. Etc. The phone is the central hub, but information is still segmented just how I want it. When a contact spans accounts, I've linked them with that feature and all of the information shows up under one entry. I can pick home or mobile or work related info even though each piece is from a different account.
And when Mango is released and I have a single inbox, the phone will become even more of a central hub to everything.
Barneyabz said:
Think you missed my earlier post - feel free to look for it. Point is that work restrictions mean I will not be allowed to sync via the cloud. As I said in my earlier post, not going to argue or debate whether this is good or bad, no point.
Therefore I am now left with Android or iphone unless Microsoft get this sorted.
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Click to collapse
I'm unsure of exactly why you're saying Android and iOS don't sync over the cloud. Neither of them have a method of syncing ONLY over USB.
For whatever reasons, you are unhappy with WP7, and it's likely just not the right solution for you. With that being said, why bother coming back to this thread unless you have a specific need to argue?
We get it. You feel that WP7 doesn't work for you. If there is a problem with the functionality or design, take that up with MS, and not with a fan board.
If you're going to argue semantics like amount of WM6.5 devices sold over WP7, at least have the courtesy to link your information. I'm going to continue to not take you or your concerns seriously until you actually understand how all of the major mobile OS devices actually sync.
Tell your IT department to get out of a cave and update their software solutions. Any new-ish version of Exchange Server will properly support OTA sync'ing of contacts.
Other than that, have fun in Apple land.
Actually I didn't say that iphone and Adnroid don't sync over the cloud, but you can do both therefore chosing to sync directly with outlook if you wish. Considering the first post on this thread, i.e. the point of the thread, is about this issue, I believe my posts have been on topic. Sorry if that has bothered you but believe it or not this is a major issue affecting many users out there.
Here are a couple of links to an article regarding windows mobile 6.5 outselling windows phone 7 during the winter
http://www.mobot.net/windows-mobile-outselling-windows-phone-7-23633
http://wmpoweruser.com/gartner-1-6-million-windows-phone-7-handsets-sold-to-customers-in-q1-2011/
By the way I didn't participate in this thread to argue, my original post is below
Barneyabz said:
Hi all
Currently using an HTC Touch Pro 2 and was considering upgrading to HTC 7 Pro. Came across this post and am very concerned. Due to work data restrictions phone must be able to connect using ordinary USB cable. Is there no way that this can happen on WM7?
Thanks
Barney
P.S Was cosiderng WM7 v. Android and decided to stick with Windows (seeing as that is all I have ever had) This could be a deal breaker though, assuming Android phones can easily sync using USB.
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I participated precisely because I like windows operating systems and was looking for help in getting it do what I want it to do, like a number of other posters on this thread. Instead I got a bunch of emails justifying what Microsoft have done rather then answering the post - why?
Now have carefully read this post and do believe that there is nothing wrong in it, its in the spirit of the board, which by the way I have been a member of for a long time, and will continue to be.
This will be my last post on this thread unless there is something posted relevant to my (and the starter of the thread) original question.
Folks,
Thanks for all your opinions.
It seems that I am not alone. Please refer to the 53 pages of complaint to MS regarding Win 7's inability to sync with Outlook in the way that some of us need to work:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...4c-87cc-54d8c5c012d2?page=50&tm=1312012136534
There is a 1000 contact limit to the number of contacts on HotMail. Tasks and notes are not sync'ed. I have no interest in exposing my data to the MS cloud when they have not published a security risk assessment and take no responsibility for data in their care.
I travel internationally; all the time. Having my phone sync automatically to get e-mail and updates costs me hundreds of dollars a month. Previously I could turn off data roaming and update my phone at night in my hotel with a cable.
I bought the HTC 7 Pro as the successor to my MDA Vario 5 (Touch Pro 2). After a frustrating week I have gone back to the Touch Pro 2 because WM6.5 works the way that I do.
My post was not meant to be an MS-bashing session. I was trying to understand and solve some major shortcomings with my new phone that affect the way I work.
So. I've got this new phone. The HTC 7 Pro hardware is quite nice now that I've upgraded the microSD card. Anybody know how to switch over to Android or back to WM6.5?
--Steve
Anyone else found the stock mail appto be a complete pos?
I understand that the Surface RT is more a "Home" device than a "Work" one but still, a better mail app is needed, hell I've even settle on Outlook Express than this lol...
what specifically are you not liking about it? "pos" isn't very useful feedback.
It seems to handle multiple accounts OK - my suggestions:
unified inbox
message preview on/off
image download on/off
Unified Inbox is the number one feature I would like to have in the Mail app.
Trig0r said:
Anyone else found the stock mail appto be a complete pos?
I understand that the Surface RT is more a "Home" device than a "Work" one but still, a better mail app is needed, hell I've even settle on Outlook Express than this lol...
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Click to collapse
It is junk, especially coming from the people who created Outlook. POP3 support is the biggest issue. I thought by now we would see an update, but no go
guitar1969 said:
It is junk, especially coming from the people who created Outlook. POP3 support is the biggest issue. I thought by now we would see an update, but no go
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I thought by now pop3 would be dead. Horrible protocol for mail
Hello,
i miss a "reading confirmation" for sendet items.
also i think the app has a big failure in syncing imap-directorys.
so on my "surface rt" or my desktop "windows 8 pro 64bit" i have the following issues.
- not all directorys are synct.
(i think there must be a restriction to the count of directorys, becouse new emails in the exist directorys are synct correct.
i have only a overall of 20 root-directory and a 222 down-under-directorys
i missing a count of 14 root-directorys with 71 down-under-directorys
can anyone confirm a restriction of syncing a count of directorys???
For me, the killer lack is the complete inability to send plain text. Too many automated systems, and a few of the people I'm in touch with, can't handle HTML email. Given the simplicity of supporting plain text vs. supporting HTML, it's a very annoying thing to not have.
I also really wish there was some support for user filters. Full integration with Exchange (server-side filters) would be great, but I'd settle for (a lot) less to have anything at all.
The inability to view the compose message window along with any other window at the same time is very annoying. I get that on a low-res display this might be difficult, but while the app is very good at scaling its display as resolution decreases on something like my Surface (right down to being usable while side-snapped!) it's terrible at using the resolution on my desktop.
I'm not experiencing any issues with the mail app. I use Hotmail, so I can set up filters at the Outlook.com website. I have a filter set up to route job-related mails into a specific folder and that's working well. Outlook.com also handles my sender blocking. I have a few folders and they all sync fine. I can view the "compose email" dialogue side-snapped on my surface without difficulty. It's not the most full featured app ever but there's nothing I need to do that I can't. *shrug*.
I think if there's one feature I'd like, it would be to be able to highlight a spam message and select "block future emails from this domain/address" to save me needing to do that on outlook.com
The only thing I now use the Outlook desktop app for is a weekly download & offline backup of my emails.
schettj said:
I thought by now pop3 would be dead. Horrible protocol for mail
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Click to collapse
I agree but unfortunately some big providers still only offer it, like Roadrunner Mail(time warner). I understand the argument to set up a gmail account but MS should be all about flexibility and shouldn't dictate what email service we can use with their devices.
I personally use email pretty much all day every day, for a Microsoft app, it lacks so many features. As a simple start, flagging emails, every email client and their dog can flag emails and show flagged emails, the mail app however can't, its not exactly rocket Science!
Secondly, as mentioned before hand the lack of plain text emails.
The fact it isn't integrated in any way with the calendar, I mean I don't expect a complete replacement for outlook, but even windows phone applications can do these simple things, so why doesn't windows 8 get possibly the worst excuse for a mail app I've ever used?
I only managed to get the built-in Mail app to sync with my Gmail once, after that it throws generic connection errors. It was slow and obnoxious to use, I gave up and just use the web mail interface.
Trig0r said:
Anyone else found the stock mail appto be a complete pos?
I understand that the Surface RT is more a "Home" device than a "Work" one but still, a better mail app is needed, hell I've even settle on Outlook Express than this lol...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I put my gmail accounts on the surface mail app and all I want is the "send mail as" option.
When you open a new email you will find your email adress in the left bottom corner. and there is also the possibility to use an another email adress.
@feygor: I agree in general, but there is actually some calendar integration. You can receive calendar invites via the mail app, and respond to them (yes/tentative/no). It's not perfect but it's no worse than on my phone, so far as I can tell, in terms of *that* feature.
Now, the lack of support for flagging (or, especially, the Importance flags)... that's annoying. You can't even filter the mail list to show only the unread messages! That's an option out of the box on WP7...
feygor said:
I personally use email pretty much all day every day, for a Microsoft app, it lacks so many features. As a simple start, flagging emails, every email client and their dog can flag emails and show flagged emails, the mail app however can't, its not exactly rocket Science!
Secondly, as mentioned before hand the lack of plain text emails.
The fact it isn't integrated in any way with the calendar, I mean I don't expect a complete replacement for outlook, but even windows phone applications can do these simple things, so why doesn't windows 8 get possibly the worst excuse for a mail app I've ever used?
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Click to collapse
I agree its not a full featured mail client - it's the first release of the windows 8 store (gag) mail client. There's nothing saying it can't grow into something better, or even that other clients that are better won't show up in the store. As an "adjunct" email client its good enough for now - given I have my phone with me always and it "owns" my calendar, I can manage it there. The calendar sync does work fine with my various calendars, at least
Give it a rev or two. You may not remember the first versions of email and calendar in iOS, but I do. Yeah, they sucked pretty bad too.
Yeah, it's poor enough that I have to use webmail for all my non-Exchange accounts. Kind of sad that my phone is better for email triage than the Surface.
I'm actually tempted to write a new mail app. I have some POP3 and IMAP code sitting around from a few years ago when I was writing a replacement mail client for WM 6.5, so if I get a chance, might see if I can use some of that.
@amb9800: That would be great. It should even be possible to publish it on the store; MS seems willing to let people duplicate the functionality of built-in apps, and the required Capabilities already exist (really, just network access and File Picker, with Share integration if you want to get fancy). Just make sure (especially if it's C/C++ code) that it's reasonably secure...
I only had a problem with the mail app when using it to access my ISP mail account directly. Since setting up Gmail and forwarding my accounts to there I've had no problems with syncing my mails, contacts, calendar entries, chats etc. Strangely my surface is more reliable for chats than my win8 laptop... the laptop is constantly saying it can't connect to various services but the surface is okay.....just my personal experience.
amb9800 said:
I'm actually tempted to write a new mail app.
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Click to collapse
Porting some existing app over should be fairly easy. Let's hope for yours and/or others to arrive
One thing I have noticed people complaining about and I may have an answer.
GMail only allows a certain number of IMAP connections.
If you exceed this, you will get errors. So, if you use Outlook, an iPhone, and a few other devices, you hit the limit.
Additionally, some apps are not following the rules and will open more than one IMAP connection. For example, Thunderbird will use 4 by default!
http://kb.mozillazine.org/IMAP:_advanced_account_configuration
Reducing the number of apps that are hitting your IMAP may help.