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Hi! I've been looking for a few apps to make my phone better and I realized that I urgently need an app to delete all of my phone if it will be stolen! I also need an app that will record short voice reminders.
I've found a few but they didnt have a nice GUI and I hate the winmo GUI. can anyone recommend some nice looking apps for my needs above?
Saw this yesterday
pretty much does what you need for the stolen phone part although might not look as nice as you want. but who needs looks when you can have functionality, no?
http://www.xda-developers.com/windows-mobile/handy-theft-protection-software/
Hey there,
I'm a Winmo user/fan and have been for a few generations of phones now. My first Winmo device was the HTC/UTStarcom Apache for Verizon (aka the XV-6700). My next upgrade was to the XV6800, which I loved. It served me very well, even when friends around me went on and on about their iPhones, I couldn't help but say how much I loved my phone.
Now, I have the Verizon Touch Pro2 (Rhodium). It really was a natural upgrade for someone who loved full qwerty keyboards, and this phone really didn't disappoint. I pretty much stuck with stock ROMs for a while, from the original Winmo 6.1, to the MR1 update to 6.5, and finally when MR2 landed, I loaded up Mr X's custom ROM, which was the MR2 with some annoyances fixed (he did a great job with it, I picked it up at ppcgeeks.com). With Sense 2.5, I finally got to mod my home screen with Cookie's Home Tab, and it simply rocks. CHT is a very awesome mod.
So, suffice to say, it wasn't all that long ago, I got my phone to the point where I really really liked it. I'm extremely happy with my current phone; I have over a year left on my contract. Which gives me plenty of time to think about what's next. Where do I go from here?
So, what is next??
Hardware is just going to keep getting better and better. I'm not really worried about that so much as I am what OS I use.
I love Winmo simply because it is so customizable. It isn't all that hard to get it to do what you want it to do. Most times, all you have to do is look around, and someone already solved the problem you're working on.
Windows Phone 7 doesn't really appeal to me. I can certainly see why it would appeal to other people, but it doesn't look like its going to really be my type of phone OS. Honestly, if I wanted the type of OS Microsoft iss building, I would much rather go with an iPhone. And, for that matter, if a CDMA version of iPhone hits the big VZW I might really think about it.
And then there is the new kid on the block (sort of). Android.
Android intrigues me. So much so, that I tried installing the Project Android Port on my TP2. Gotta love Haret. I started with the basic ROM that looks a lot like the UI for the Motorola Droid. It wasn't too bad, but the ROM ran rather poorly on my device. Then, later on, I installed the Klinux version, that has the Sense UI on top of Android. I think I really like that interface. It rocks. The port is still a little slow, but its also running off of a SD card, and its not really a 100% working port yet.
Now, I think I like the Sense UI implementation in Winmo more than I do the implementation in Android. However, HTC has done a fine job with it on Android, and it's got a lot of potential.
So, I'm really starting to think now, "Could my next phone be an Android device?" And to be honest, it doesn't sound like a bad idea. It's an open platform, it's very customizable (why I liked Winmo so much), and it seems to be picking up steam in the Apps category (sometimes I'm jealous that I can get an app for something on my Android port and not on Winmo).
But, what would be nice to have, in my mind, is a little more help from the big G itself. Google already has a feature with its Gmail application that allows you to basically tell Gmail to log into your other email address (that you are presumably trying to switch from) and it will pretty much import all of your old messages and contacts, etc.
I think it would be really spectacular if they could do the same thing for Winmo users. Basically, have a new site --> phone.google.com (or something similar), and have it be your cloud based backup location for everything that doesn't get synced now from Google. Sync up all of your SMS Text Messages, your documents stored on your phone, music, videos, and photos. Also, it can be a portal linking you to other Google apps like your calendar and contacts. And then, give this new site the ability to log into myphone.microsoft.com and pull all of the old stored data from there.
It would be perfect for someone like me who has all of his content there. Bam, all of your saved SMS messages... pulled over from MS to Google, and you don't miss a beat with them. Seriously, SMS is becoming as important as email for a lot of people. I hate having to lose texts, so when MS offered MyPhone and the ability to back them up, I was all over that.
Heck, Google could even improve upon what MS started. Have customizable settings, where if any SMS is older than a certain date, it gets archived in the cloud (so its still stored and searchable), but your device doesn't have to get bogged down with actual files, and older messages that have been archived get automatically removed from your device. If your device gets wiped, and you reinstall everything, when it syncs up, you pull back all of the messages that are newer that "X" date, while everything else older than "X" stays in the cloud in your archives. They could make the data exportable... its just data in a database, you could export to a spreadsheet like Excel, or Google Docs equivalent. Give people options, they'll love you for it.
I'm sure that there is only a small fraction of their userbase that is coming from Winmo over to Android, so I really don't expect them to do this... but wouldn't it be nice. They'd surely win me over with it. I know, somewhere out there, there is an SMS backup application for Android, but it sends your SMS messages to an email account to be backed up there. I think a dedicated system in place for backing up, restoring, and archiving SMS would be better. To me, its one of the missing pieces to Android's way of doing things.
If any of you out there have any thoughts on this, why not comment. I'd love to hear other ideas that people have regarding this.
(Also, I couldn't really figure out a good place to post this, so "General" seemed as good a place as any. If any mods see fit to move this to somewhere better, go for it.)
I agree with this completely. I'm a big Winmo advocate, and I love the customiseablity that it gives. I've pretty much got my device to the point of perfection, and I'm practically in love at this point. Anyway so I decided to give android a go on my device, and at first I was pissed that they tried to force me to register a google account, which I was unwilling to do. I somehow got it to work and I quite liked it in all honesty. I bought my topaz outright, so I don't plan on getting a new phone anytime soon, but Android intrigues me and if there isn't any new WinMo or something in the future, that will be what I will switch to.
Switching for me wouldn't be a problem, I don't really have anything that I can't backup to an sd card so thats not a problem for me.
Android is 3 thime more customizeable than winmo, I switch from winmo to android and LOVED WINMO but now I can't stand it GET ANDROID
Sent from my myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
The wonders of the cloud... seriously. MS had a good thing going with the KIN and KIN Studio, where it would upload every single thing to a server in the cloud- pictures, videos, favorites, status updates, etc. And everything you put on the cloud from your PC would beam back down to your phone (contacts!).
Google could probably easily push this very easily- their cloud services are extremely powerful already, so I don't see why they couldn't and shouldn't.
I have a loyalty towards WinMo from having used the Touch Dual, Touch Diamond, and Touch Pro2.
But it's getting very difficult to defend WinMo. It basically comes down to WinMo gives users the option to tweak everything about the OS. You can make the OS look like whatever you want it to. You can tweak it for performance. But let's stop and think about this for a moment.
1. Why do we tweak the aesthetics of the OS?
We do it because the the OS looks ugly and outdated. The main look of the OS hasn't changed in over 10 years! We do it because it's not fingerfriendly since the OS was designed to be used with a stylus.
2. Why do we tweak the OS for performance?
We do it because despite the OS being known for multi-tasking, it just doesn't now how to handle RAM very effectively.
So far with Android, I've been able to do everything I could on WinMo. Plus, the OS looks modern and performance is excellent. Aesthetically and in terms of performance, Android is significantly much much better. So what's the reason for staying with WinMo? I can't think of a legitimate reason anymore...
Thanks for the input folks! ohyeahar, you make some very good points, and its some of the things that I have been mulling over myself.
I think my biggest point, is that Google has a chance to really improve its cloud based services with their phones, and I hope they do.
Longtime winmo user with t-mobile since mda vario so have gotten used to tweaking the registry direct and finding/installing ARM cabs off the internet, but as Android seems to be the way to go i feel now is a good time to take the plunge, so just a few noob questions about android to make me feel at ease
#1 Can you save direct from the browser files such as mp3s zips rars etc to be viewed later? having used a friends iPhone i noticed it streamed music and video files rather than a save as option.
#2 Do you have control of the directory structure eg a form of file explorer,so you can rearrange where things are located on your device or card.
#3 given I'm not very likely to mess around with roms and the like, and this phone has htc's sense front end, will I find the migration from the HD2s interface to the sensation easy? i love all the Facebook, YouTube and twitter integration so I'm hoping it will all be there in some form or another.
I realise a lot of this is subjective and rather depends on the individual, but I would appreciate feedback on these less techie issues, as im more likely to base my upgrade on functionality than specification.
cheers!
major_otaku said:
Longtime winmo user with t-mobile since mda vario so have gotten used to tweaking the registry direct and finding/installing ARM cabs off the internet, but as Android seems to be the way to go i feel now is a good time to take the plunge, so just a few noob questions about android to make me feel at ease
#1 Can you save direct from the browser files such as mp3s zips rars etc to be viewed later? having used a friends iPhone i noticed it streamed music and video files rather than a save as option.
#2 Do you have control of the directory structure eg a form of file explorer,so you can rearrange where things are located on your device or card.
#3 given I'm not very likely to mess around with roms and the like, and this phone has htc's sense front end, will I find the migration from the HD2s interface to the sensation easy? i love all the Facebook, YouTube and twitter integration so I'm hoping it will all be there in some form or another.
I realise a lot of this is subjective and rather depends on the individual, but I would appreciate feedback on these less techie issues, as im more likely to base my upgrade on functionality than specification.
cheers!
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Click to collapse
1) yes
2) yes (Astro File manager works very well)
3) you shouldnt have a problem making the transition.
I'd like to add in a questions since I'm doing the exact same thing (MDA>Tilt>TP2>HD2).
Is there any way to backup my text messages to my PC & read them from there? I currently use Jeyo Mobile Extender to back up my HD2s texts to Outlook & can read them there.
Also, I use Outlook to sync my calendar & contacts, is it an easy transition from this to using Google? I've seen how you can use the HTC Sync program to sync with Outlook but that doesn't look as easy as using Active Sync/WMDC
When I used WinMo/Outlook last (2008), I imported my contacts directly into Google. A search will get you multiple ways I'm sure.
Handcent is widely considered the best replacement SMS client on Android, and it offers some cloud features for SMS.
Alternately, you could port your number to Google Voice or simply use Voice for all of your SMS needs so it's all managed withing the Android app and available on the web.
There are many SMS backup app utilities also.
Ok more questions.
-How easy/hard is it to change the various icons & stuff in Android. I currently use DINIK's custom just about everything on WM6.5 & would like to do something similar in Android.
-Can the camera timestamp pics on the image like in WM?
-If you add a birthday to a Contact & sync does it automatically add it to the Calendar (& put it all the way back to the year) like in WM?
I may have more. Also, sorry OP for hijacking your thread.
I've never seen a reason to change any of the icons in Android. The stock Android icons are just fine, and Sense might change that. Can't answer that one.
I'm not sure why you'd want to put a timestamp on the actual photo. All of that information is in the EXIF data embedded in the .jpg. My Nexus One has no apparent means of adding the timestamp, but there are many, many camera applications available and I'm sure it's a feature elsewhere. Also, the Sensation might not use the Android camera, and that feature could be present in an HTC camera.
I always did like the birthday thing in WM, and I've not fiddled with it enough to see if that's a feature that has been retained. The stock Android calendar widget is crap, as it's only one event per day, so perhaps Sense and/or a Calendar app, of which there are many, can facilitate this.
(As I said, I've used WM6 in the past, but it's been a while. My Herald with WM6.5 was okay, but the last time I used it as a primary phone was November 2008 on the MDA.)
I understand all the info in in the EXIF data, but I do like having the timestamp so I can see the date of the pic right away.
So the stock Calendar app kinda sucks huh? Hmm I'll have to look in to that when I get this phone. I rely on this app a lot for reminders of birthdays, bills, tasks, etc.
As for the icons, I'm just curious. WMs icons sucked (as everyone knows) so of course everyone wanted them changed. I'd just like to know that the option is there for Android in case I want to do it.
Fair enough.
The calendar app is decent, and you can set alarms and notifications with ease. One of the greatest things about the Google integration is that your changes done on the device or web are synchronized, which I'm certain you're aware of.
The Calendar widget is my complaint. You can have 10 events happening on a day and it'll only display one of them. Not two, or an indicator that there are more events to be seen. One.
There are other free and paid calendar widgets that make this much less an issue.
Google app icons are, like most things Google, simple and effective.
kampf said:
The Calendar widget is my complaint. You can have 10 events happening on a day and it'll only display one of them. Not two, or an indicator that there are more events to be seen. One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah ok, thanks for the clarification. Sadly WM is the same way but the mod Cookie's Home Tab was able to fix that & let's you decide how many to show. I guess I'll have to find a replacement.
I'm actually shocked people still use winmo on HD2. Android is a breath of fresh air.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
I tried it once, couldn't get the MMS settings to stick & just forgot about it. I like WM6.5 but I'm ready for an OS that still has support for new stuff.
Another question: my girlfriend has the MyTouch4G. I've noticed the screen doesn't turn on when receiving a text message. Is this standard on Android? Is there anyway to fix that?
Also, for the MMS settings on hers, there's no way to choose how to download the pic. With WM on my HD2 it gives you the option of original resolution & other, smaller ones. Is there a way to do that in Android as well?
The MT4G has some serious tweaks to it, but the SMS behavior is probably normal. I recommend Hancent again because not only does it wake and notify, but you can send a reply without unlocking the screen, though it does not unlock the device.
MMS saving is pretty much save-what-you-get, which sometimes is not that large. There are also MMS-saving apps.
xnifex said:
I tried it once, couldn't get the MMS settings to stick & just forgot about it. I like WM6.5 but I'm ready for an OS that still has support for new stuff.
Another question: my girlfriend has the MyTouch4G. I've noticed the screen doesn't turn on when receiving a text message. Is this standard on Android? Is there anyway to fix that?
Also, for the MMS settings on hers, there's no way to choose how to download the pic. With WM on my HD2 it gives you the option of original resolution & other, smaller ones. Is there a way to do that in Android as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If she is on stock? The stock screen turns on briefly then turns off. The mms setting is weird it took me awhile to find out how to do it. You don't click the picture you click and hold slightly above it and then there is an option to save.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
MaxReality said:
I'm actually shocked people still use winmo on HD2. Android is a breath of fresh air.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty much a stickler for stock roms. i know, call me old fashioned but I'm probably going to mess about with my HD2 once it isn't my only phone
major_otaku said:
I'm pretty much a stickler for stock roms. i know, call me old fashioned but I'm probably going to mess about with my HD2 once it isn't my only phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair play. what got my goat, was windows mobile has been out for a looong time. And it didn't really change much. then iphone came along, with a million quality apps, and nothing really changed with winmo. and then Android came along with a million free apps, and after a while in the UK we got the Marketplace in the UK with, erm about 8 apps, and then they charged you like £20!
After playing with these other phones, as soon as a reliable android rom became available, I gave winmo the 2 fingers. I've used them for 10 years, so have a right to be miffed. But yeah, roms not designed for the device were flakey. and like you I prob won't mess with my next phone.
Was just shocked that people stuck to winmo, with there being an alternative, - unlimited amount of android fun.
Anyone not used these android phones will be blown away with the amount of free useful and gimmicky apps.
kampf said:
MMS saving is pretty much save-what-you-get, which sometimes is not that large. There are also MMS-saving apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it sucks. I'll send her a pic from the HD2 & when she gets it it's been shrunk down a lot. When she sends me a picture it's still fairly big because of the setting on WM.
Killbynature said:
If she is on stock? The stock screen turns on briefly then turns off. The mms setting is weird it took me awhile to find out how to do it. You don't click the picture you click and hold slightly above it and then there is an option to save.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's not the saving that I'm worried about, it's the fact that pics that I send her that should be a lot bigger are shrunk down in size. If someone sends me a pic, I want it to be as big as possible & not be messed with before it gets to me.
major_otaku said:
I'm pretty much a stickler for stock roms. i know, call me old fashioned but I'm probably going to mess about with my HD2 once it isn't my only phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, I like stock ROMs. The 3.14 ROM is nice & I have it set up perfectly with CHT. I'm going to do the same thing tho with my HD2 once I get the Sensation.
There's no good reason to use MMS between you two. Get Dropbox accounts and share a folder. Upload photos there and they're full size and accessible anywhere.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
yeah but there's still a reason to MMS between me & my mother/sister/brother/buddy/friends that don't have Android phones.
Your reasoning is kinda like the reason Apple kept MMS out of the iPhone for so long: they thought it wasn't needed because you can just email it. Sorry but MMS will be around for a bit.
Oh man, good on you for reminding me of how Apple resisted MMS for so long. Heck, most people forget that the iPhone HAD NO APPS for a year after it was released.
@OP
Are you looking about upgrading to the Sensation, or is this about android on the HD2
If it isn't about the sensation, do you mind if I move this to HD2 Android.
Okay, I've been looking for a good solution and haven't found one yet. I'm hoping some of the creative minds out here in the community can help me out.
I'm from the States, and I'm currently working in China. I'll be here for another 5 months or so. I'm a Nexus devotee, so I've got my Nexus 4 and my Nexus 7 here with me. The N4 goes everywhere with me, and the N7 is more of a couch/bed companion and a travel reader/movie player. I'm trying to find a good integrated messaging solution for communicating both with my colleagues and friends here in China as well as my friends and family back home.
When I first moved here, my plan was for Google Voice to be my solution. I had my cell number ported to Voice, and I have continued to use that for texts, voicemail, and VOIP calls using Groove IP. That has been a pretty handy solution, and it's nice that I can also access my messages when I'm sitting at my laptop through the Chrome extension. There are a couple of downsides to Voice though. The first is that it's kind of a clunky piece of software. It's certainly not sleek, and the syncing between devices can be a little hairy. I haven't figured out how to get a nicely functional inbox either. Google refuses to accept my China Mobile number for some reason, so I have to activate the app by using another friend's US number and then deactivating messages to her phone. Also, my friends and family members who are Apple users complain about the app being really poorly designed on Apple products. They don't actually need it of course (the reason I set it up was so my phone number would continue to work for everyone), but I can't control their end of it.
GChat/Talk is one option that I like quite a bit. It syncs really well between devices, and it's really clean and sleek. One issue I have with it is that, when my internet gets spotty at work (which is far too frequently), a message will sometimes arrive on my N7 at home, and I won't see it until I get home from work later that night. Also, once again, the Apple users hate this option because of the terrible choices on iOS.
In doing some research on some other options, I came across Kik, and I instantly fell in love. It's sleek like Talk with quick messaging, but it's more comprehensive with additional features and a better implementation of read/unread messages. I got it all set up on my N7 and was ready to tell everyone to sign up when I installed it on my N4. I looked at my N7, and I was back at the login screen. I logged in again and saw the screen pop up on my N4. The software does not support multiple devices. That's unfortunately a deal-breaker. Unless they fix that flaw, Kik is out the window.
I'm using mysms right now, and it's got potential, but I'm still not completely sure. I haven't really figured out the best settings to get it most effectively working with my China Mobile number and my Google Voice number. It's not as sleek and fast as Kik or Talk, and I've gotten some complaints from the Apple crowd about it not being very intuitive. But it does sync pretty well between devices, and I can access it easily on my Windows 7 laptop. So far, though, I'm not thrilled with it.
I would like to hear from the community any tricks with settings, additional apps to try, or other creative solutions to this. All ideas are welcome, and I'll be happy to try anything out to see how it works, so please don't be shy about any ideas. Thanks in advance for your help.
I recently got a Pixel 4a 5g and originally tried GrapheneOS and now I'm on Calyx. The issue I have is the stock texting app on either OS does not support group texting which I use a lot with my family. So I had to find a 3rd party app, found QKSMS which supports group texting.
However I don't know if this is an OS or app issue, but at random, I will get old texts back. It will basically be as if it's a new text, but it's an old conversation that just replays itself. It's super annoying and also confusing because sometimes at first I think it's a real text I just got.
Is there a way to make this stop? I'm also open to suggestions on an alternate app but it needs to be something that's in the F droid store, since I don't really want to put Google play on here as it kind of defeats the purpose of having a privacy oriented phone if I start putting apps that spy on me.
I also want to stick with SMS/MMS and not signal etc, because not everybody uses all the same chat app, but SMS is just universal. Everyone I know uses it.
Anyone else ever run into this and found a fix?
Just bumping, hoping someone has a pointer for how I can troubleshoot this?