Database Info

Asurion Mobile AddressBook for Android

Hello XDA,
I am one of the developers of the Asurion Mobile AddressBook and I would like to get some feedback on our product from the users here. I have been using this forum for some thine now for Winmo and respect the opinions of the developers here. It would be great to see what everyone thinks of the application. It is available in the Android Marketplace, just search Asurion. Or you can go to our site at http://www.getaddressbook.com/.
A little about AddressBook, it is a socially connected address book that allows you to get information about your contacts from different social sites like Facebook and Twitter right in the address book, through mini programs called Mixins.
Soon we will have an APK for developers to develop their own Mixins for AddressBook. When its ready I will post more information if anyone would like to beta for us.
AddressBook is still in a beta form and is available for 1.6 and 2.0 and above. Please try it out and let me know what you think. AddressBook is new and we are open to positive and negative feedback.
Thanks,
Peter

Just installed
Main app + all MixIn
It's a nice app, just a bit slow on my HTC Sapphire Magic Vodafone 32B with 2.1 Eclair Rom
I don't like "MixIn solution", why not a full app with all modules inside ?
I've launched main app, then I gone to market and installed Facebook MixIn for first.
After a lot of privacy authorization with some screen not well fitted I did a little war with Matching People, cause a lot of them were not matched nice.
I need Photos compare, cause I've some cases with two or more people with the exact name... like my cousins =)
I had some Facebook MixIn Force close Crashes and some com.google.process.gapps crashes too, right now...
I installed flickr and associate it with some of my contacts and no problems at all.
at last I tried Twitter and no probs with it...
I think it's a good app, but a bit slow...
last thing:
Support for all languages (I could translate it in Italian if you need)
I don't like number in this format 000-000-0000
or 00-000-0000
I know it's a developing app and I will wait for next releases of this.
Well Done
Good Job

This is some great feedback, thanks for taking the time to try it out and post back.

Just wondering
Is this ultimately going to be a paid application?
You know like:
5.99/mo
4.79/mo
1.99/mo
What's our deductible? :0

Haven't tried the app, but if you could spread the QR codes apart it will ease their reading.

Thanks for your app!
played with it 30mins.
1. got the main app
2. started a new a/c in www.getaddressbook.com
3. got the MixIn: Facebook
4. start the MixIn app, input Facebook a/c
5. click Allow buttons 3 times
6. MixIn starts to get contacts from FB
7. Auto Match
8. Manual adjust Auto Match results
9. Launch main app
The above steps took about 25mins (330 FB contacts; 300 gmail contacts; Auto Matched 180; manual picked out... haven't counted >_< i believe picked out 30 - 50).
Cool:
-Auto Match tried to best match FB | Local contacts even they are not perfect match.
e.g. Shirley Lam | Salei Lam (it matches)
-Facebook photos can replace local as well as sync. to Gmail Contacts
-Consolidated activities log (SMS, voice call, etc) for individual contact
Not:
-[MixIn: FB] Say you have some contacts named Peter Chan, you will get confused without some other hints like Organization.
I picked those contacts out in Auto Match to prevent mis-matching as Org is not displayed in Auto Match results
-[main app] Contact list won't remember the last viewed location.
I scrolled from top to Carol, click twice to view details, click Return and the contact list scrolls back to top.
-[main app] Slow. Maybe it's my outdated HTC Magic... (it's CyanogenMod 4.2.13 w/ EBI1 mod]
For me:
Keep and waiting for updates!

looks cool..will try this later when i get home for work..
speed is defiantely something that can be worked on.

thebluecoat said:
Is this ultimately going to be a paid application?
You know like:
5.99/mo
4.79/mo
1.99/mo
What's our deductible? :0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the application will be free. And no deductible that I know of

It looks interesting but what you should definitely not miss is the T9 dialer. The way you can find contact by typing their name directly from the dialer is the only feature that makes me stay on 1.5. I tried other apps from the Market but nothing could match HTC's Sense UI dialer. If you can bring something clean similar to this I'm sold!

Another question for the community. Are there any features you are not seeing in the AddressBook that you would like to see, things that would make this app a must have?

Great work on the app. After using the app for a few days the main reason I stopped us using it was the user interface. Its not horrible but compared to everything else on the phone, it looks a bit outdated (quality wise). Other then the ui, it can be sluggish at times but nice work.

DesertWolf1971 said:
Another question for the community. Are there any features you are not seeing in the AddressBook that you would like to see, things that would make this app a must have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Darvo is absolutely correct. The T9 dialer is something that is sorely missing from most builds. I think it would especially appeal to stock users as well as those running cooked roms. I have been searching for a reliable answer to this outside of a Sense UI but haven't found anything that I'll stand by 100%.

Thank you .........

I appreciate your effort with AddressBook; however:
I find it extremely inappropriate and invasive that the app immediately syncs my contacts upon install to -- where? your servers?
There should be a clear warning that this is about to happen!
Please delete my data from your servers!
Also, the 'delete all' function on your site does not work, at least not with Safari. I 'moved' all to the 'delete' column on right, but clicking on 'delete selected' does nothing.
And with Chrome I couldn't even log in. Got some error about 'src' and try the support page.

I am sorry that app is frustrating you. There is a screen during setup that lets you know about the backup. This function can be turned off in the app. If you give me your user name I will delete your account from the database. The back up is meant to protect your contacts in the case that you loose your phone or get a new one. As for browser support, right now we are only supporting IE and Firefox. Again sorry the app is frustrating for you.

Great app!
I really like and appreciate this app. The 2 biggest features that drew me to waste countless hours playing w/ hero roms on my mytouch were hero's T9 dialer, and the social integration. I'll 3rd the motion for a T9 dialer in your app. No complaints otherwise. Bravo - and thanks for the great app.
P.S. Backup to server is a bit redundant in my opinion, because your contacts already sync w/ your Google acct - but, to each is own. I might be missing an advantage to it anyway. I just opted not to use it.
And props for soliciting feedback here in the forum - where the REAL users are.

DesertWolf1971 said:
There is a screen during setup that lets you know about the backup. This function can be turned off in the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Because I can see in the options where to change the time and frequency of the sync, but I don't see how to disable syncing altogether. Maybe I'm just missing something?

Good catch, looks like there is a bug, you should be able to set it to not backup. We will work to get that fix in.

I have been playing around with the Hero, but I am not sure I have found the T9 dialer, what does it do?

Feedback
I've been following this app since it first arrived, and I must say bravo for doing what only HTC dared to attempt. It works well, too, except for a few things.
1. It may SEEM that scrolling smoothness isn't that important. Ask Apple, they'll tell you the truth: Its the only thing the masses give a Sh&% about, how something looks. So imitate the apple or hero contact style, because the one here is rough but needs only an easy fix! Smooth scrolling and better "sleek" colors. Same for the dialer.
2. It seems to run too often in the background, which slows my phone seemingly, no matter how often i taskiller it.
Eagerly awaiting the next release...

[REQUEST] Black Book

What I'm asking for is a program that acts as your digital Black Book for meeting girls. When I've met them, how many times we've slept together, hide private photos, videos, online backup etc.
It would be awesome if there was an ability to store photos and videos for the specific contact as well. First time I encountered a really good version of an app like this was the "My Little Black Book" for iPhone. I've been searching the net for over an hour now and can't find any app that's even close to that one for the Android platform.
The one for the iPhone is located here: http://saltlicklabs.com/products/little-black-book/
A similar app like that would be awesome.
Things that would be great to include:
Ordinary info
Name, number, e-mail and every other info that's inside the usual contact. Would be awesome if you could import from contact list, link to contact list or something like that
Photos/Videos
Import pictures from the photo library to a specific girl/boy and at the same time hide/delete them from the ordinary library so they can't be accessed without using the application. Comments and ratings of pictures would also be great!
Additional information
First date we met.
What's her/his favorite color, food, movie etc.
How many times have we met?
How many time have we slept together?
Hm, maybe this section should be customisable? The user adds his or her own informations fields based on text input like the above "questions" and then he or she can edit the numbers and text when things update. This way the information you can put on a date/person is infinite!
Custom lock code <-- VERY IMPORTANT!
Secure SMS and MMS inside the application. Threaded or non threaded view with MMS support. Be able to save MMS atachements to application secure media library.
Backup to online dump site like dropbox or FTP.
Also, would be great to be able to export data and pictures in a way that makes it look pretty nice. Word, Excel, HTML or whatever. Import functions for the exported data.
I think it's sad that no one have developed an app like this
If there is any developer that thinks that this is a great idea, I will gladly help out as much as I can with photoshop, tips, ideas, layout and everything else that's not related to programming.
I think this is a kind of app that will be very useful for many boys and girls around the globe
I'm eager to read your opinions!
Best Regards
Mistwalker

Mistwalker said:
I think it's sad that no one have developed an app like this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offence... but I think it's pretty sad that you want this. I mean, I can understand what you want, but do you really need to keep a tally on your phone? Most people would just take satisfaction from the use of their time rather than counting it. It seems like you want to over geekify a quite pleasurable experience... Anyhoo, each to their own, I'm not judging
Secondly (the helpful bit), there are apps to hide folders/sms/files etc (a search on the market will return multiple apps) with a password or PIN. Could you use one of them instead? Maybe not the ideal solution for you, but at least you could hide those 'personal' pictures and texts

...
thefunkaygibbon said:
No offence... but I think it's pretty sad that you want this. I mean, I can understand what you want, but do you really need to keep a tally on your phone? Most people would just take satisfaction from the use of their time rather than counting it. It seems like you want to over geekify a quite pleasurable experience... Anyhoo, each to their own, I'm not judging
Secondly (the helpful bit), there are apps to hide folders/sms/files etc (a search on the market will return multiple apps) with a password or PIN. Could you use one of them instead? Maybe not the ideal solution for you, but at least you could hide those 'personal' pictures and texts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't really matter why he wants it, but I think and a Black Book app would just be convenient rather than have a lock on your photos and your sms and your file explorer. Also that could appear a bit fishy if were to have a wife/girlfriend. lol I would like to see an app like this as well...

thefunkaygibbon said:
No offence... but I think it's pretty sad that you want this. I mean, I can understand what you want, but do you really need to keep a tally on your phone? Most people would just take satisfaction from the use of their time rather than counting it. It seems like you want to over geekify a quite pleasurable experience... Anyhoo, each to their own, I'm not judging
Secondly (the helpful bit), there are apps to hide folders/sms/files etc (a search on the market will return multiple apps) with a password or PIN. Could you use one of them instead? Maybe not the ideal solution for you, but at least you could hide those 'personal' pictures and texts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, yeah. You could. But it's not that convenient to do. It's easier to keep track of everything in one app
And by the way, it can be used for more than just that. For example, me and my friends, well. They have a pretty messed up way of what they think is fun. For example, they think it's awesome to take pictures and videos of when you do embarrassing things, when you fall asleep waaaay to drunk etc etc. We pretty much ends up with priceless pictures all the time With an app like this, it would be very easy for me to keep track of every funny thing someone have ever done So there are more usefullness than just the girls Or boys if you're a girl

thefunkaygibbon said:
No offence... but I think it's pretty sad that you want this. I mean, I can understand what you want, but do you really need to keep a tally on your phone? Most people would just take satisfaction from the use of their time rather than counting it. It seems like you want to over geekify a quite pleasurable experience... Anyhoo, each to their own, I'm not judging
Secondly (the helpful bit), there are apps to hide folders/sms/files etc (a search on the market will return multiple apps) with a password or PIN. Could you use one of them instead? Maybe not the ideal solution for you, but at least you could hide those 'personal' pictures and texts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I have been looking for an app that locks other apps (with password or pin) and havent found one. got any names or what to put in the search box? Since you said they are there already?

Taintdroid...android's duff security model

Worrying article on how apps are using personal information.
www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/30/suspicious_android_apps/
I'm sick that they had to go too such lengths to find out. We need a better net architecture to enable a proper firewall to work.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Also, app naming FAIL!

Well, since they only tested 30 apps and won't release the names of the ones they tested, only saying that they are "the most popular", personally I don't buy it.
And the information these apps are sending out is primarily geolocation. Well, no ****. If an app wants your location and you don't think it should have it, it's either using it for ads or you should decline to install the app and just send an email to the dev asking him why he needs that information.

tjhart85 said:
Well, since they only tested 30 apps and won't release the names of the ones they tested, only saying that they are "the most popular", personally I don't buy it.
And the information these apps are sending out is primarily geolocation. Well, no ****. If an app wants your location and you don't think it should have it, it's either using it for ads or you should decline to install the app and just send an email to the dev asking him why he needs that information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed... geolocation is pretty obviously straight forward. I don't know about the 'transmissing every 30 seconds' thing though.
Any thoughts ont he transmitting sim card and IMEI info?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnLujX1Dw4Y
Also discussed here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=795702
With explanation where to get it from http://www.appanalysis.org/

A very well-written reply by "Steven Knox" on The Register, demonstrating how this 'research' is simply a pile of intentionally-misleading statistical rubbish:
By selecting only from applications that access both personal data and the internet, they're overstating the significance of their study by about 3x. Furthermore, their summaries blur this distinction unnecessarily.
Specifically, their FAQ says "We studied just over 8% of the top 50 popular free applications in each category that had access to privacy sensitive information in order to get a sense of the behaviors of these applications." Since there were 22 categories at the time they did the study, that would imply (22*50=1,100 * 8% =) 88 applications. However, they actually only tested 30, because of the 1,100 top 50 applications only (from the PDF) "roughly a third of the applications (358 of the 1,100 applications) require Internet permissions along with permissions to access
either location, camera, or audio data." -- meaning that the other 742 apps don't have the necessary permissions to play badly. The clause "..that had access to privacy sensitive information in order to get a sense of the behaviors of these applications." from the FAQ is grammatically ambiguous in this case (it may refer to "applications" or "category"), and not specific enough to indicate that over 2/3 of the applications are (relatively) safe by dint of not having the necessary permissions.
They also didn't include in their study apps from 10 of the 22 categories, but they don't explain whether that was due to a) there not being any or enough applications in those categories that required internet and personal data permissions, b) a conscious choice to focus on the other 12 categories, or c) the results of random selection (with an explanation of why they did not use a stratified sample).
Once you factor back in the applications they ignored, the numbers don't look quite so bad. Assuming their sample was representative, 2/3 of the 358, or about 239 applications of the top 1,100 of the time use personal data suspiciously. That's about 21.7% or just over 1 in 5 -- still significant, but a far cry from 2 out of 3. In fact, the worst case maximum is actually 358 of 1,100 or just under 1 in 3 (32.45%) because they are as mentioned above the only ones that actually acquire the permissions necessary to do anything "suspicious".
I understand why both the researchers and the reporter used the 2/3 figure -- you all believe you have to sell the point as hard as possible*. But the real story is that it's likely that at least 1 in 5 Android Apps use private data "suspiciously" -- and that number is still high enough to cause concern and to justify the further use of tools like TaintDroid. It's a pity you didn't trust the facts enough to avoid the unnecessary sensationalism.
*I am assuming, here, that Mr. Goodin did actually read and digest the paper as I did, rather than simply picking out the figures from the study, the FAQ, or a press release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

good spot. But one in ten woolf be too many. The point is we should have more fine grained control and transparency off what apps do over the net, and we can't, by design.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

We need to develop a shim that reports modified IMEI/SIM data for different apps. IMO, very few apps need that information. We may not be able to keep all those apps from sending our private information, but we can make that information useless if it appears that we all are using the same IMEI/SIM...

patp said:
...The point is we should have more fine grained control and transparency off what apps do over the net...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed....

if you are rooted. With Root Explorer go to /data/system/ and open accounts.db you might be surprised what you find in it... Some people it will be fine for but mine it shows my exchange email and password in plain text and a few others show up as plain text has well...Its not geo they are worried about (for the most part) and...this file has been known about for awhile
Don't worry though unless your downloaded android specific virus holding apps you wont have any problem. And if your getting all your apps legally through the market then its no big deal =) and if your pirating them...well I don't feel bad for you...

echoside said:
if you are rooted. With Root Explorer go to /data/system/ and open accounts.db you might be surprised what you find in it... Some people it will be fine for but mine it shows my exchange email and password in plain text and a few others show up as plain text has well...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Opened it, my accounts are there, but no passwords....

rori~ said:
Opened it, my accounts are there, but no passwords....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my gmail is somesort of encrypted but doesnt look that great.
Exchange shows up
facebook doesnt show anything at all aha
Thats why I said some might not have anything. Awhile back when I first heard about it one of my friends had two or three right there in plain English I didn't have a phone at the time to check...
Its been reported before but kind of just brushed over no biggy. To go real conspiracy theorist....I think apple is submitting all these articles...

ButtonBoy said:
We need to develop a shim that reports modified IMEI/SIM data for different apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great idea

The source code/instructions for TaintDroid are now out:
http://appanalysis.org/download.html

Anybody found a (recent) kernel with built-in TaintDroid-support?

[APP] Zlaunchy for Android 1.3

Hi,
Version 1.3 was released and also published on Android Market on 2011-07-03 - you can grab it here or from links below. The main change is fixing UpdateEntriesService which stayed running in certain cases and used up memory.
ZLaunchy was written mainly for those who like the way HTC and other third party dialers allows searching for contacts in a T9-like way - so that finding Adam means choosing 2326 in the phone application. ZLaunchy uses the same idea to run programs on your device. What it does is gives you a dialer keypad and when you type in a series of digits, it searches for all programs that match - for example to start Internet, start typing 4683 - Internet should show up in the result list.
In order to search for a particular text as beginning of words, type the specified digits - for example 4683 to find Internet. In order to search for specified letter(s) not only at beginning of words, add "1" at the end - for example 7371 will find Opera.
This application is free.
Changes in 1.3 release:
Fixed bug that caused UpdateEntriesService service not to stop after a successful update
This bug caused service to remain in memory and consume memory. Happened when "refresh items when inactive" was disabled/enabled.
Reworked logging mechanism
Reworked logging and cleaned up some of internals related to troubleshooting; should speed up the application a bit
Changes in 1.2 release:
Changes in contact handling to improve handling for certain devices
We have changed how ZLaunchy retrieves contacts, which should help support for some devices - users who had issues with contacts should try out the new version
Added option to always show menu when selecting a contact from list
It is now possible to choose whether ZLaunchy will open contact details or show a menu to select commonly used actions
As usual, you can download ZLaunchy from Android Market and our website.
Changes in 1.1 release:
Search in contacts' email address and telephone numbers and application's package name
QWERTY search for devices with physical keyboard
Ability to dial number
"0" button added on the on-screen keypad
Application details can now be shown on all Android versions
Preferences for global settings and profiles - you can now configure searching only for contacts, applications or both
Better APK install/uninstall integration
Download link: https://market.android.com/details?id=org.endorser.zlaunchy and http://www.endorser.org/en/downloads/android/zlaunchy

The idea is great, the app works well and faster then I expected 10/10
Sent from my GT-I5700 using XDA Premium App

Just an update - the main feature of 1.0 is ability to search contacts and bind to long press search button.

wow i used to have this feature in some old keyocera phone i had and i missed that feature since..
thanks alotttt

I like it better then go contacts nice work bro
Sent from my Ginger Chrome MR2 using Tapatalk

Simple and Good
Great application, and really fast.
If they can find also phone numbers will be great
6277 Will show you Maps and also all contacts with a 6277XXXXX phone number.
Good work, 5 stars for you!

Recognized the name straight away good to see is now available for android, cooked into WM ROM i'll have to test later, thx again

hamsterkiller said:
Great application, and really fast.
If they can find also phone numbers will be great
6277 Will show you Maps and also all contacts with a 6277XXXXX phone number.
Good work, 5 stars for you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto...would be great to include contacts in the search.

morgej said:
Ditto...would be great to include contacts in the search.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does - searches both phone numbers and names. If you want to search for part of phone number (i.e. 6277 in +486277XXXXX) - just add 1 at the end.

great app! works fast, looks simplistic and clean, and definitely useful...
although i wonder where to find the 0... searching for numbers could get tricky without being able to type the zero.
and i couldn't figure out what the prev and next buttons do. since i have a desire s without any trackball i can just assume that's sort of a trackball-action, but in my case not functioning. any hint on that?

szallah said:
great app! works fast, looks simplistic and clean, and definitely useful...
although i wonder where to find the 0... searching for numbers could get tricky without being able to type the zero.
and i couldn't figure out what the prev and next buttons do. since i have a desire s without any trackball i can just assume that's sort of a trackball-action, but in my case not functioning. any hint on that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Initially it was only meant for searching apps - so I didn't think of 0. I also want it to allow dialing a number in 1.1 so 0 will be added for sure.
As for next/prev, it was meant to choose profiles (i.e. apps, contacts, specific folders, combination of these), but it's not done yet. So maybe it'll be changed to 0 and profiles button.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA App

I have some force close like 20 seconds after searching for an app.
Otherwise I am very happy to find this program, I loved it in Wm!

Nice! Just what I've been looking for. I use Launchy on windows and linux and this is just perfect.
Oh and I have an idea for improvement:
Apps/Contacts launched more often should get an increased weight so they show up on top. Like when you type at least X % of the App name, but there are like 10 others that match the searchstring, the results should be sorted based on their weight.

Sichroteph said:
I have some force close like 20 seconds after searching for an app.
Otherwise I am very happy to find this program, I loved it in Wm!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you send a report about it? Then I'll see the stack trace and hopefully know more about it.
Thanks.

wojciechka said:
Can you send a report about it? Then I'll see the stack trace and hopefully know more about it.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apologize. It was related to my android rom, not your software.

Very snappy program, I am highly impressed!
As a long time user of Find and Run Robot, I would be using ZLauncher all the time if you were to implement filtering by typing with the physical keyboard. That would make this an absoultely killer app for me. I totally understand if you prefer to keep this T9 only though
Oh and it doesn't seem to respect the fact that I disabled auto-rotate (Desire Z running CM7)

This is an awesome program, love it. Finding myself using this more that the App Draw. Great stuff!

I can;t find any contacts using this app, it only displays applications

Hi,
First of all - good news - 1.1 should be out next week. There are still some bugs to clean up, but it is progressing really good.
Here's some text about it:
http://www.endorser.org/blog/mobile/android/50-zlaunchy-1-1
Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter - @EndorserOrg.
And Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/endorserorg/243303242940
KeauHou said:
Oh and I have an idea for improvement:
Apps/Contacts launched more often should get an increased weight so they show up on top. Like when you type at least X % of the App name, but there are like 10 others that match the searchstring, the results should be sorted based on their weight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be cool, definitely want to do this, but not in 1.1. Who knows - maybe 1.2...
Pickx said:
Very snappy program, I am highly impressed!
As a long time user of Find and Run Robot, I would be using ZLauncher all the time if you were to implement filtering by typing with the physical keyboard. That would make this an absoultely killer app for me. I totally understand if you prefer to keep this T9 only though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's also on my radar. Will be done for 1.1.
Pickx said:
Oh and it doesn't seem to respect the fact that I disabled auto-rotate (Desire Z running CM7)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, a bug in layout - also will be fixed in 1.1.

I am very stoked for this new release, it sounds like it'll be really great. Thank you for making this.
As for the feature KeauHou suggested, the previously-mentioned FARR implements this very well so you could take a look at the kind of algorithms it uses if you feel like it.

[Q] Upgrading from HD2 / WinMo6.5

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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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.
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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?
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.