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I'm getting tired of my iPhone 3G, it's beginning to show its age with ios4 and I'm tired of running jailbreak just to get features I feel the device should have out of the box. This hurts both the stability of the device (jailbreak apps take up ram which in turn tends to cause other apps to crash since they can't allocate enough memory) and the overall system coherency (most mods and hacks don't work well with others and it becomes a chore to set everything up nice and clean).
So I'm thinking of switching to Android, I've done some research and I'm mostly torn between a few handsets (Desire Z, Galaxy S II, Desire S etc), but I think I'll decide after I visit the store and get a chance to play with them.
More to the point - I have some questions about the Android platform in general before I take the plunge.
1) I'm a heavy music listener, and I love how the iPod app does music. It's brilliant. How's the android keep up in this department? Making and syncing playlists on your computer? Dynamic playlists on the phone? Playback controls on the lockscreen? Last.fm sync? Switching tracks with volume buttons (CM7 can do that) Any other things I should be aware of?
2) Assuming I'll be setting up with my google account - how does android handle gmail contacts? I can tolerate google dumping anyone I email into my gmail contacts, but I don't want all that garbage on my phone. Any easy solutions?
2b) Pictures on contact list - sync?
2c) Aliases? I have other accounts set up in gmail (work, private, spam) and I need to send mail from all of them. Possible? Easy?
3) Any decent todo list applications? Apart from the usual rtm/evernote. I had a real trouble with this on the iphone. Good ones did not have lockinfo integration and the ones that had were either too expensive or did not suit my needs.
4) Upcoming events, birthdays, todo's on my lockscreen. This is a must. Possible?
5) I'm a bit of a social network whore. More and more often I tend to arrange meetings with friends using facebook/buzz/mailing groups. This means notifications and ease of replying to messages on various networks. I know for a fact that the notification system on the android is heavens above the crap apple delivers currently, and this will probably feel way better and more natural than on the iphone. Are there any particular issues in this area?
6) Battery life. Currently my 3G can go up to 3 days on a charge (usually 2), depending on usage. But I don't use the internet more than I have to since the device is a bit on the slow side since ios4... This will probably change How much does multitasking affect battery? Can you define apps that you want to close when you quit and apps that you want to go into the background (like chats or ims) Or is there some other clever way of easily managing the stuff that's sucking your juice? Any recommended handsets that have a particularly good battery life?
7) iTunes syncing backed up all applications and settings - any comparable solution on android?
8) Visual voicemail on the iphone was the best approach to voicemail I've seen. Any such on android?
9) How much fuss is upgrading the firmware? On the iphone you just press a button, sync and go grab a coffee. After it's finished you restore your jailbreak apps with another click and youre ready to roll. How does this work here? Assuming I'll root and get CM after a few weeks when I'm sure the handset won't need replacing
And finally - any other things I should know? Features I that a user coming from apple would find appealing?
Thanks
2) I honestly don't know. I have setup a seperate google account just for my phone.
You could be able to do all your e-mail dreams with an app. What about this?. Not sure about the buildin email app.
4) Anything is possible with "Widgetlocker" lockscreen.. well almost, but as long as you can get it as a widget you can place it on your "Widgetlocker" lockscreen.
6) Battery life is a problem for most phones, I have heard good things about LG Optimus 2X when it comes to battery. My HTC desire last about 2 days with moderate use. Its the mostly the screen and wireless network that drains the battery.
There is app-killers that can do all kinds of fancy things but often programs just "sleep" when put to the background and the android system automatically kills programs when need of resources.
9) In HTC phones you have to enable a check for firmware updates. When an update is published you will get a notice asked if you want to update. Don't know about other phones.
When dealing with rooted phones, you download a zip file containing the ROM to your SD card, reboot to recovery, do a "nand backup", flash ROM from zip file.. wait
1) I'm NOT a heavy music listener, but it seems nearly all you need is available on Androïd.
2) Pictures in contact list: yes. Aliases yes.
If you don't want to use google sync for your phone contacts, you can choose to store them only in the phone, and saving them in .vcf format (using Go Contact app for example).
I use K9 email client, with multipush abilities, as many mail accounts you want.
3) Don't know . See in Android Market site.
4) Yes. Specific widget.
5) Nope.
6) Battery is a complex problem. Depends on Android version, Baseband version, hardware, installed softwares (some launchers are draining more than others). My Optimus 2X is able to long 48h without being turned off, with a moderate usage, no games, some WiFi surfing.
7) Plenty: Titanium Backup, BackUP Everything etc....
8) Don't know what is visual voicemail. Lol. Never touched an Iphone.
9) Nearly as simple.
As an iPhone user, I want to know why the people in this community prefer Android, what makes Andorid phones “Smart” to you.
I know customization is a big one for most people, it used to be my number one as well. I used WinMo since the 2003 edition, then the HTC Hero. However slowed I became tired of it, and I realized customization is a pretty big waste of time. At the end of the day, having the option for a customized user experience doesn’t mean it’s a better experience. Power hungry news widgets, youtube widgets, facebook widgets are quite gimmicky and almost useless. The only things useful were the quick settings.
This is just my opinion on the customization argument. Don’t hate.
For me, features that makes life easier makes phones smart, and iPhone has a number of them that gets used all the time:
Wireless sync without hassle (plug in the power, no button pushing at all)
Air Play, wirelessly play music on my speakers (I have yet to get a apple TV, but able to wirelessly stream video would be pretty cool too)
iPod with music controls on the Lock Screen, and also multi-tasking bar. These little things really makes the overall experience top notch.
Facetime/iMessage – I love native apps, so fast, easy, reliable.
I want to make a switch to Android because I want a larger screen (G NOTE!), but I don’t know enough about the OS to overcome the pros of iPhone.
What features/apps do you use all the time that are great and exclusive to Android?
So far im thinking:
Better Gmap, youtube, actual folders, screen size, independence from computer. What else?
All I can say is wow, I have an iphone 4, ipad 2, galazy tab 10.1 and galaxy s2. Everything you mentioned can be done on andriod with the exception of itunes crap, lets not forget that half the stuff you mentioned were actually on andriod a long time ago.( Apple always announces producta as new but in reality their just really stating they can now do it. Just google specific app types for what you have listed and you will find them easily.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using xda premium
your choice s is right..Andorid is a good platform ..
You don't like customisation? you probrobly still won't like android. None of the features you mentioned are impressive they are availible to android phones in one form or another. WHat makes android smart is its ability to be how you want it. If you like being told how to use your phone and what to do with it, stick with apple, or try wp7. If you want your phone to keep suprising you go for an android handset. Some apps you may need to set up once. That goes for any phone.
I have chosen android because of the great community of developers and the possibility to use customroms.
Sent from my Galaxy S (ICS Beta 1) using Tapatalk
All I can say is wow, I have an iphone 4, ipad 2, galazy tab 10.1 and galaxy s2. Everything you mentioned can be done on andriod with the exception of itunes crap, lets not forget that half the stuff you mentioned were actually on andriod a long time ago.( Apple always announces producta as new but in reality their just really stating they can now do it. Just google specific app types for what you have listed and you will find them easily.
I'm careful about posting at night, but:
Cm nightly 263
Tmobile g2
300 dollars on ebay 6 months after it dropped
183 apps
Paid for 2:
Geocaching app
ICS blue theme
Pandora no ads
Unlimited skips
Plugged into 18 dollar cigarette lighter mp3 player in expedition with 9 speaker surround sound
Full keyboard
Etc etc
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
Even if you need some apps that aren't stock from the market, Android is a better experience. With some tweaks (legally, opositive as Jailbreak), like ROOT and unlock bootloader, you have everything you need and don't need in no time.
Android is the way you want it. I used a little of his iPhone and entered on the App Store. That thing don't have NOTHING. No substitute music app, video app. And the things I saw have 2.5 of 5 in ''points'' (sorry, coudn't find the correct word), and in Android Market most of apps have 4.0 or more.
The thing I want to say is, with Apple, in my opinion, you pay for things you won't have. Processors are from Samsung, camera sensors are from Sony, desing is horrible, in my opinion, compared to Xperia Arc.
But all of this is my opinion.
Sorry for english, btw
Sent using Mini CM7 Pro by Paul
I would say large number of wrapper classes
bennyx8903 said:
For me, features that makes life easier makes phones smart, and iPhone has a number of them that gets used all the time:
Wireless sync without hassle (plug in the power, no button pushing at all)
Air Play, wirelessly play music on my speakers (I have yet to get a apple TV, but able to wirelessly stream video would be pretty cool too)
iPod with music controls on the Lock Screen, and also multi-tasking bar. These little things really makes the overall experience top notch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, actually all the things you mention there are on Android; in fact they were already on it long before the iPhone could do it.
music control on lock screen - Android has had it for a long time, I think since first release. in fact, there are several music player apps that are able to set their own controls to the lock screen, Player Pro is one of the most popular. I prefer btunes though, which you might like because it's basically an exact copy of the iOS player with some enhancements that I was really craving back when I had my iPod.
speaking of, Android's stock music player app is pretty good, although a fave feature of mine is the ability to download alternate ones if you wish, many of which have a wealth of feature the iOS app really out to have by now. as for your music itself....
wireless sync - Android could do this before iOS. in fact, it could wirelessly sync with itunes months (maybe over year or more) before Apple even announced the feature for iOS, which only a month ago received the feature. just use Doubletwist, or iSyncr wifi, (both allow it over wifi or USB). for a good long time now, these apps and others have allowed this. i prefer iSyncr, as it allows you to sync only the checked songs in Itunes. USB can be configured to sync automatically at plug in, and the wifi add on allows it to be set to auto sync at certain times of day, on the hours, every four hours, every 8 hours or manually. it also lets you auto sync and upload new music, photos and videos, default to your iTunes folder but you can set it to send the anywhere else on your computer that you like. best of all, the USB version can sync with any Mac or PC running iTunes without installing ANY programs on said computers, and the wifi version only needs a very small counterpart program installed on it, which is free and can be loaded to your phone's own sd card for easy installation if you don't have a connection on the comp at the time. configuration is easy, but only takes once, and anyway both versions come with common, good options preset if you wish.
Also, Doubletwist does Airplay on android, as do several other apps, although I can't say much about them because I never really got into local vid streaming. I'm told they work great though.
there's also more options for buying music on Android, as we have Amazon MP3 and now google music to download directly to the device or through your computer, and of course, iTunes through your comp if you wish.
as for multitasking bar, well Android had that too, you hold the home button and it shows a list of recent apps. there's lots of additional third party options for this too, like alternate home screen launchers and such that allow scrollable docks.
I know you said you don't like widgets, but of course you don't have to use them. there are several widgets that also add multitasking capabilities too, like circle launcher and some folder-type organizers.
God I write too much. anyway, check out some of the apps I mentioned on the Market website.
https://market.android.com/
The ability to do basically anything on it, customized it so it fits your needs, and being unique from other devices.
And you can change to a thrid party keyboard instead of using the stock keyboard.
OK which i have SwiftKey X.
In some words, iOS does not have everything Android has but Android likely has everything iOS has and more than that.
silveraero said:
In some words, iOS does not have everything Android has but Android likely has everything iOS has and more than that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good way to put it, yes. In fact, Android users got quite a kick out of the iOS 5 unveiling a few months ago; it was widely noted that of all the "new" features unveiled, every single one of them was actually stolen directly from the Android OS, or one of it's popular exclusive apps, except for iMessaging, which came from BlackBerry.
It really angered a lot of people actually, because Apple even copied the pull down notification menu, renamed it the notification "center" and still proceeded to sue every Android dvice manufacturer it can, claiming they infringe on things like scrolling, anything with a touchscreen, rounded corners, black borders, etc.
I think the real question. Is why not android? Not much you can't do with these devices.
Sent from my DROID X2 using XDA App
I had a Droid, sold it and went to iPhone. There are some features I prefer on iOS compared to android. Syncing to iTunes for one. When I was on my Droid, doubletwist was in its infancy and didn't work all the time. If it does now, that's a big plus.
My iPhone plugs directly into my car stereo via usb, so it charges and plays at the same time. Not sure if something like that is possible on android, but it wasn't at the time to my knowledge.
I prefer the music app on the iPhone and the way it manages everything. Again, that has likely improved.
I recently got another android device in my Nook Tablet. It's gotten me back into wanting to find my way around hacking android. Now if there was an app compatible with FaceTime, and a game I play was ported over, I'd switch back to android when my next upgrade came around.
I also have a lot of audiobooks in m4b format that I don't want to reconvert, not sure if there is an Android player that will play them. That would be an important factor in switching to android.
Sent from my BNTV250 using Tapatalk
I'm glad you can do that on that small screen, also can you send me a file by Bluetooth ?
I choose Android not only because of customization, but because Apple is so ANTI-customization. They shove their consumers in a box and expect them to stay there. If anything's changed, they face bricking/fines/etc. Apple doesn't condone freedom. Apple screws innovators. Therefore, I say screw Apple.
bennyx8903 said:
Now, I'm not exactly shooting you down, but rather mentioning that these are available on Android;
For me, features that makes life easier makes phones smart, and iPhone has a number of them that gets used all the time:
Wireless sync without hassle (plug in the power, no button pushing at all)
DoubleTwist + AirSync.
Air Play, wirelessly play music on my speakers (I have yet to get a apple TV, but able to wirelessly stream video would be pretty cool too)
I've seen this several times; HTC devices have it built in and several Market apps do it.
iPod with music controls on the Lock Screen, and also multi-tasking bar. These little things really makes the overall experience top notch.
Every single lockscreen in the world has Music controls, and Android has recent apps (which are greatly revamped in ICS)
Facetime/iMessage – I love native apps, so fast, easy, reliable.
Google Talk, built in app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had to do some things there. On a side note, I respect you for coming to a site filled with hardcore Android fans and talk about the iPhone.
bennyx8903 said:
As an iPhone user, I want to know why the people in this community prefer Android, what makes Andorid phones “Smart” to you.
I know customization is a big one for most people, it used to be my number one as well. I used WinMo since the 2003 edition, then the HTC Hero. However slowed I became tired of it, and I realized customization is a pretty big waste of time. At the end of the day, having the option for a customized user experience doesn’t mean it’s a better experience. Power hungry news widgets, youtube widgets, facebook widgets are quite gimmicky and almost useless. The only things useful were the quick settings.
This is just my opinion on the customization argument. Don’t hate.
For me, features that makes life easier makes phones smart, and iPhone has a number of them that gets used all the time:
Wireless sync without hassle (plug in the power, no button pushing at all)
Air Play, wirelessly play music on my speakers (I have yet to get a apple TV, but able to wirelessly stream video would be pretty cool too)
iPod with music controls on the Lock Screen, and also multi-tasking bar. These little things really makes the overall experience top notch.
Facetime/iMessage – I love native apps, so fast, easy, reliable.
I want to make a switch to Android because I want a larger screen (G NOTE!), but I don’t know enough about the OS to overcome the pros of iPhone.
What features/apps do you use all the time that are great and exclusive to Android?
So far im thinking:
Better Gmap, youtube, actual folders, screen size, independence from computer. What else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android has wireless sync...its not just a iPhone feature as the iPhone 4 and 4S are both minor fails. Atennagate and iOS 5 battery problems.
I'm thinking of going to WP7. An Android app exclusive is PewPew. I haven't seen that in iTunes.
Sent from my SPH-M920 using xda premium
Android is open source OS, many developers can come up with Custom ROM and kernel that is better in terms of performance other than that, i like how it sync with my google mail, contact and calendar.
Hey all,
I’m thinking of switching from my Galaxy SII to a Windows Phone 7 based phone. As of now, the switch is temporary till SIII comes out but maybe who knows if I like it, I might just stick to WP7 after all.
Major usage of my phone is in Emailing, Messaging, VOIP, Calls, Navigation, Music, Browsing and News reading. I’m dependant on the following apps on the Android :
Swype
Google Reader
Gmail
Google Docs
Google Maps
Google Talk
YouTube
Any.do (Task management Application)
Dropbox
Polaris Office (Full fledged document editor)
IMO (Multi-messenger)
Skype
Teamviewer (Remote desktop)
My Data Manager (App to keep a track on bandwidth consumption)
and some less frequently used :
Zedge (just an easy to use source for wallpapers and ringtones)
SoundHound
Facebook
So given the above usage pattern and apps that I’m on dependant on, do you think I could switch to WP7 painlessly ? Are there any alternatives available for my apps ? (Swype or something similar is a must)
Couple of more queries..
Also, I’m thinking of getting the Samsung Focus so if I get an unclocked device would there be a possible scare of getting it locked again once I update the firmware (either officially or custom) ?
How is the battery life on the Focus ?
I am not much aware of Sideloading/Jailbreaking of a WP7 device and the Custom ROM scene , is it similar to Android ?
Can I debrand Focus or should I consider Omnia 7 instead ? (I’d prefer Focus as its thinner than Omnia)
What is the best ROM out there and when updating to a newer ROM does it wipes all the data ?
Is there any lag in the phone ? Maybe after installing too many apps (like how some Android phones lag)
Is multi-tasking experience (apps/services running in the background) similar to Android ?
are there any other limitations worth mentioning on WP7 / Samsung Focus?
and what about the plus side of WP7 when comparing to iOS and Android ?
Thanks
There is currently nothing remotely similar to Swype on WP7.
WP7, currently being a closed OS, does not have the option of swapping the native keypad for a Swype version. There's an app called Slyde that attempts to be like Swype, but it cannot until the ecosystem changes.
You will have access to document editing for Word and Excel docs via Office. It's quite handy, especially being able to pin files to your home screen.
Dropbox isn't so dandy yet, IIRC, but you will have access to 25GB of SkyDrive storage.
With what you've mentioned, I'm not sure WP7 will be a smooth transition for you. It's definitely worth a shot to see if you might like it, but will take some getting used to. See what you can live with and what would be a deal breaker.
The WP7 software keyboard is much nicer than I expected, expecially on a largish phone (I have an HD7) but it's true that there's currently no Swype or equivalent available.
There are lots of Google Reader apps available, some quite good.
Gmail integrates pretty well with the phone when you add a Google account. My phone is the primary way I access my Gmail now.
You might be able to access Google Docs through the web browser; I haven't tried. For actually reading and editing Microsoft Office documents, Office Mobile wors very well indeed.
Google Maps is available (via apps, or somewhat awkwardly via the web); Bing Maps is built into the phone and works well for me.
There are IM clients that support GTalk on the phone, but the only messenger network currently built into the phone is Live. That said, IM+ handles my GTalk-using friends very well.
There are a multitude of YouTube apps. You can also use HTML5 on YouTube via the browser just fine.
I don't know Any.do. There are a lot of task management apps on WP7, but I don't know how they compare.
Not sure how good Dropbox access is on the phone (obviously, you can download via the browser, and there are apps which use it as a way to transfer data, but I've never looked for a real DropBox client).
I would be quite shocked if Polaris Office is more full-fledged than Office on WP7. It's not impossible, but for a phone-based office suite it would be very impressive.
I don't know IMO, but there are a number of multi-network IM clients on WP7. My preferred choice is IM+ but that's just personal preference.
Skype is (finally) coming to WP7. The current app is actually pretty good, and it's still in beta. Considering MS now owns Skype, the future for Skype on WP7 should be very good.
I don't know if TeamViewer is available for WP7 yet. Remote Desktop (as in, Terminal Services Client, the built-in Windows feature) is, though... Also, SSH clients.
T-Mobile provides an app for tracking usage for my phone. I don't know what's availble for whatever carrier you'd be on.
There are a couple of cool apps that provide wallpapers and ringtones, with frequent updates (weekly or more). Never heard of Zedge, though.
There's a SoundHound-like feature built into WP7. Shazam is also available. SoundHound might be; I'm not sure.
Facebook is definitely available (both as OS integration, and through a now very good app).
Responses to a few select questions:
3. The homebrew and custom ROM scene is smaller than Android (though growing) but the Focus (gen1 phone, not the Focus S or Focus Flash) does support "interop-unlock" hacks through WindowBreak, can run WP7 Root Tools (run any app with full privileges, under your control though), and has custom ROMs.
4. If for some reason you get a branded Focus, yes, it can be de-branded. I'm not convinced that it's a good idea to do so (without just installing a custom ROM or some such anyhow) but it's possible. The update story on WP7 is generally much better than on Android, and you can force updates anyhow if the carrier is taking too long. Not many other reasons to debrand are coming to mind...
5. I can't answer the first part, but as for the second, yes you will completely erase the phone when installing a custom ROM. If you want to do so, I suggest making it one of the first things you do (this will save on trying to back up and later restore things, which - aside from contacts and media files - sadly is not automatic on WP7).
6. No. There are a number of technical reasons, but the simple fact is that a single-core 1GHz WP7 device has a significantly smoother UI than a (for example) 1.5GHz Android device. Since apps are *extremely* limited on what they can do in the background (by default), there's no risk of them slowing the phone's UI down no matter how many you install.
7. Not really. It's much closer to Apple's approach. The advantages are better battery life and no lag. The disadvantages are that apps pretty much can't do anything real-time while backgrounded, and need to resume (although it's very fast on apps built for Mango or later) when returned to the foreground. You can switch between apps quickly, though.
8. SD cards don't work the same as on Android. They are used for permanent increases to device storage. You can't use them to transfer data onto or off of the phone, and if you want to add or remove/replace one, you'll need to hard-reset the phone. That's the main thing not already mentioned that an Android user might find odd. Oh, and stock ROMs don't allow replacing things like the dialer and such (you can install alternates, you just can't replace the built-in one completely).
9. Faster, and smoother UI (even with theoretically slower hardware). Essentially no risk of malware from the Marketplace (apps are checked before approval). Timely updates, even for older phones (of course, "older" for WP7 only means about 18 months so far). Xbox Live games. Zune Pass streaming (costs money but it's awesome). Great integration with Facebook (pretty good with Twitter and can pull LinkedIn contacts, too). Excellent email and calendar, especially if you use any Exchange servers. Hardware-accelerated rendering in the browser. Consistent UI style in apps. All phones have very similar hardware specs, so fragmentation is not a problem. Live Tiles are great for at-a-glance info, and the app list is (for me) much clearer to use than the "grid of icons". Dedicated double-action camera button and dedicated rocker buttons. Local Scout is a pretty cool built-in feature. Really good developer tools make writing apps very easy and quick.
I'm sure there's a lot more, but it's 5AM and I need to sleep.
Swype -None, WP7 native keyboard prediction works impressively!
Google Reader - 6 or more apps available. Fuse seems to be popular.
Gmail - Syncs natively without any glitch.
Google Docs - You might have to save your docs onto Skydrive which integrates natively on the WP7 (free 25GB storage too!)
Google Maps - GMaps Pro or Bingle maps. But Bing works fine, integrated too.
Google Talk - IM+
YouTube - YouTube Pro or Prime Tube.
Any.do (Task management Application) - don't know this app's functionality.
Dropbox - BoxShot for Dropbox, 3rd party client, works without any issues for me.
Polaris Office (Full fledged document editor) - I've heard of this one. But Office built-in won't make you feel the need of Polaris. However, what sort of editing do you normally do?
IMO (Multi-messenger) - again IM+ (?)
Skype - there is a beta that won't run in background, but otherwise very much working, excellent call quality. It should come as an app in a month or two and hopefully integrated with Apollo (rumour).
Teamviewer (Remote desktop) - RemoteDesktop7
My Data Manager (App to keep a track on bandwidth consumption)- Very limited apps, one that might work is - Call Credits, but never tried it. Only read a review.
Zedge (just an easy to use source for wallpapers and ringtones) - Plenty of these sort of apps and can easily sync other websites too other than Zedge. Ringtones is an app that uses 3 different clients in a single app.
SoundHound - Yes, you won't need it though, music search is inbuilt.
Facebook - Yes inbuilt and there is an app.
Plus side of any windows phone in my opinion is, it's rapidly developing new platform which is a fresh UI, security is top-notch, integration works well, it's never frozen on me, I did not have to restart my phone once in last 7 months of using it, Zune and Xbox integration is amazing if you are a music freak or a gamer, 25GB of Skydrive access from your phone for documents, pics, music streaming - will only get better once you start using it. Integrated Bing maps, local scout, music discovery and search, accessing camera without unlocking the phone, search from lockscreen etc.
"You don't need an app for this or that and it just works!"
GoodDayToDie said:
Responses to a few select questions:
The disadvantages are that apps pretty much can't do anything real-time while backgrounded, and need to resume (although it's very fast on apps built for Mango or later) when returned to the foreground. You can switch between apps quickly, though.
I'm sure there's a lot more, but it's 5AM and I need to sleep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the indepth response, it cleared a lot.
When you say that apps can't do pretty much anything, I hope at least apps like IM+ and Whatsapp can retrieve and send messages in the background.
drupad2drupad said:
Polaris Office (Full fledged document editor) - I've heard of this one. But Office built-in won't make you feel the need of Polaris. However, what sort of editing do you normally do?
Plus side of any windows phone in my opinion is, it's rapidly developing new platform which is a fresh UI, security is top-notch, integration works well, it's never frozen on me, I did not have to restart my phone once in last 7 months of using it, Zune and Xbox integration is amazing if you are a music freak or a gamer, 25GB of Skydrive access from your phone for documents, pics, music streaming - will only get better once you start using it. Integrated Bing maps, local scout, music discovery and search, accessing camera without unlocking the phone, search from lockscreen etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sometimes edit Word and PPTs on the move.
Not much but basic formatting in word and the ability to edit the layout and slide design is what I need.
Yeah thats the most exciting part of WP7. Its a rapidly developing platform and on top there's gonna be a unification of the mobile and desktop OS. I hope they build a deep seamless integration between the two and they play well with each other.
anseio said:
There's an app called Slyde that attempts to be like Swype, but it cannot until the ecosystem changes.
With what you've mentioned, I'm not sure WP7 will be a smooth transition for you. It's definitely worth a shot to see if you might like it, but will take some getting used to. See what you can live with and what would be a deal breaker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't find any info on Slyde app ?
Well, the responses here have cleared a lot for me. I m definitely gonna give it a shot. Now my only gripe is Swype, I'm far too dependent on that. I hope there is something out there in the homebrew community.
Btw, is there a possibility that the current generation phones would get the WP8 update ? Well there are rumors that it wouldn't but then Windows Tango is primarily being released to make sure WP7 can run on lower spec devices.
It is confirmed all WP models will get Apollo update will pretty much be like with iOS some features will not be available. The next major update is no promise but that is over 2 years so if you have not updated your phone by then not much can be said.
tricurious said:
I couldn't find any info on Slyde app ?
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My bad. It's called Slydr, not Slyde.
It is NOTHING like Swype. Since it cannot replace the native keyboard, in order to use it you have launch the app, type what you want, put it on the clipboard or choose an option to send it as sms or email.
It does not work from within SMS or email, so replying while using slydr will mean that you have to leave the message, open the app, type what you what, copy it, return to the email using back arrow long press and then paste.
Looking forward to the options that WP8 may make for.
IM+ and Whatsapp and the like can use Push Notifications to receive messages while the app is not in the the foreground. Technically it's not the app doing the receiving (it's not running); instead the app tells the OS to listen for messages from a specific server, and to mark them as being intended for that app. When the messages arrive, the phone will display a notification and, if the app's tile is pinned to the Start screen, can also show a number of waiting notifications (typically, the number of messages received). When the app is run again (either resumed, or launched anew, or launched directly by tapping on a notification "toast" popup) the app will check with its server for all the messages that arrived while it was "out".
The overall effect is very much like the app continuing to receive messages in the background, except in weird edge cases (for example, if you try to resume the app while there's no data connection available, it won't be able to retrieve the messages that arrived earlier). On the plus side, the push notification system is much easier on the battery than almost any third-party app running in the background would be. It is technically possible to have apps actually run in the background (there are a couple ways, with varying degrees of official support and different limitations) but the battery hit for doing so tends to be pretty harsh (one reason why Android has a reputation for awful battery life).
Everybody is welcome to post their opinions but flame is against the forum rules.
PLEASE USE REPORT BUTTON.
Hi there,
It arrived today and I was hopeful having owned the original. Aside from the lovely build and feel of it, I can't help but think that Tizen has ruined it a bit.
At the moment, I think its going back to Amazon, unless there's an easy way to do the following, and if anyone can pitch in, I'd be grateful:
Tasks/ToDos: I use Any.do which hasn't got any Tizen app/integration. Is there a good tasks app that syncs to an S5 and is usable like Any.do
Notes: I use Keep or Evernote and the lack of Evernote app is extremely disappointing, what am I going to use the camera with!? Is there anyway to use these services via an app? Or similar.
Maybe there's a way that this all just works with the built in Samsung apps on the S5 and I just haven't figured it out. Maybe the Gear Live was the better option...
No a good list/tasks app isn't there yet. There are many in the store, but all have issues i really don't like.
At the moment i use GearNotes and i created a note with my lists. So only viewing on the watch and not checkin the items.
So, I have had this watch since late November, so, here's my honest opinion after ~7 weeks use. (I suspect I get unnecessarily flamed by Samsung Fans for this!!)
The Good
- The design, rotating bezel is the best attempt yet at a simple selection system for a smartwatch
- The battery life - I easily get 3 days
- The hardware - nice screen, snappy performance
- Answering/rejecting calls from the watch works very well and call quality is superb
- Notifications work well, but limited as to what one can do with them with non samsung phone
- Huge number of watch faces - but who needs more than one?
- When S-Voice is working (which is rarely) its handy for 'remind me to...', 'set alarm for...' requests.
- Controlling music player on phone works well enough
- Very few decent apps, but Remote Camera, Xenozu (Youtube), Gear Browser, Toggles, Flipboard work pretty well.
The Bad - (Warning - this is pretty scathing!)
- Only 1.4GB free on watch from the original 4GB
- Watch is full of junk that cannot be uninstalled (useless watch faces useless apps)
- Seriously compromised if not using with a Samsung phone (eg no email, limited sms messaging)
- No way to add SMS functionality via third party apps. Can send messages, but can not go back through old received messages.
- No Gmail/Email (pop3/imap) app, if you have a Samsung phone you get this feature, if not then tough. A stand alone imap-enabled client would have solved this.
- Often the only option in notifications is 'show on phone' eg from FB messenger/twitter notifications - where we are talking about just a few words, this defeats the purpose of the watch, I need to be able to read on watch and reply on watch. This limitation gets tiresome. 3rd parties EG FB/twitter could fix this with their own S3 app, or notifications that allow 'reply', but we all know they never will. Some other notifications (eg email are less limiting)
- Samsungs App store is god-awful - there are many poor quality, paid apps, and when one installs them and discovers they are rubbish there is NO WAY to get a refund (unlike the google play store). I have wasted £20 this way.
- Decent apps on the Samsung store are hard to come by. The (fairly pointless) Xenozu Youtube app, gear brower along with the widgets app (displays android widgets on yr watch) are about the only decent ones that exist. The latter eats battery on the phone though. One notable exception being the remote camera app which is good.
- Samsung pay still does not work in the UK, and no idea when or if it ever will.
- a good 80% of the 'apps' on the Samsung store are simply watch faces - I only need one watch face.
- What remains is an extremely poor collection of extremely buggy apps.
- The 'SMS Service is not available' response to S-Voice attempts to 'Send a text to xxx' requests is tedious. There was no need to screw the functionality up so much for non Samsung phone users.
- Very often S-Voice does not respond - just times out and gives a spoken error
- The remote connection (via wifi) when watch is not connected via bluetooth is unreliable. Its supposed to make a remote connection to phone and allow notifications/etc to still be sent to the watch. Most of the time, it does not work even where watch/phone are on same wifi network, I have never had it work when they are on different networks.
- The watch is fussy about wifi networks (it wont work at all in my workplace for instance). It connects, but no connectivity.
- S-Health is a pile of junk, it auto-detects cycling when I am doing 60MPH on the motorway for instance!!! Among many other issues. Where is the option to remove it and replace with Strava? S-Health on the phone also eats the phones battery in no time.
Samsung needs to up their game if they are serious about Tizen Smartwatches, supplying their own developers for free to the likes of facebook, twitter, whatsapp, hive, ifttt, Skitrax etc in order to ensure that apps for the watch get developed, or paying devs to develop for the platform. They also need to change their store to allow a refund window for rubbish apps.
Samsung could WRITE an IMAP app to fix the email hole on the watch (could be configured from phone, but then work without phone)
Nigel
I am a Samsung fan and I agree with a lot of your gripes, but with all Tech products the "honeymoon" period is pretty short, in other words the level of excitement wears off quickly.
But I agree, if they want Tizen to take off, they need to have major upgrades to the software side of the experience. Samsung is and always will be a great hardware manufacturer, but the software side is always a question-mark. This goes for the overloaded useless crap software on their galaxy phones to the poor software functionality of their smart tvs.
Google is releasing Android Wear upgrades so hopefully some competition outside of Apple will spruce things up, but I am not holding my breath.
BTW, I had to turn off S Voice as it would randomly turn on 2-3 times a day (I didn't even have voice recognition configured) when I was in meetings, very embarrassing. I should have the capability to uninstall it all together.
Also 100% agree on the refund period, like what the hell, in this day and age it should be an easy thing to do. Have bought so many faces and apps that look great and advertise great functionality to only be disappointed when seeing it work after installation. Money wasted.
The only reason I dont have a Samsung phone is the software. Hardware great, but why oh why do they have to mess with stock android so much!?
Sent from my SGP621 using Tapatalk
I bought the frontier to try out Tizen. The other reasons were Samsung Pay, GPS (coming from Huawei Watch) and IP68 certification. I was hoping there would be great apps to support it along the way. The watch build (minus the rotating bezel) is fantastic but Tizen and the current Gear apps are just not exciting enough and hence my feelings are similar to the OP. Maybe my expectations for a wearable are too much. However, I'm looking forward to what Under Armour has to offer since I like to track my runs. Still keeping my Huawei with latest Wear developer preview installed which I actually prefer over Tizen for its clean UI, Google search and wrist gestures. I hardly touch the Frontier's rattling bezel for the fear of it breaking loose. I wish I could tap the screen to turn on the display as with the Huawei. These are just my preferences but its good that I can have the same notifications on both watches at the same time using one phone and therefore be able to switch between the two.
I agree with the OP post plus I'm fed up with the bugs and crap altitude and barometer. Maybe I'll switch to the Fenix 5 when it's released.
I also own a Lg G watch r, and the thing i miss on Gear s3 are the lack of google`s software integration. Would like to use "ok google", by far superior to S-voice. Also google maps, with turn by turn navigation on my wrist.
The selection of watchfaces are awful on gear, and many of them does not look nice on the watch. Missing Watchmaker app, awesome selection of quality watchfaces created by users.
Like mentioned in OP, the notifications are not rich enough.. the idea of the watch making it easier is not working good enough. BUT im hoping there will be changes coming, because it an nice looking and powerful watch.
blackspp said:
I agree with the OP post plus I'm fed up with the bugs and crap altitude and barometer. Maybe I'll switch to the Fenix 5 when it's released.
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Fully agree with you. There is no apps and Samsung does not bring much to the table. It should be improving the experience, but in place they just rotate few features between models. They don't add new features, but only remove some to replace them with others. Then next models, swap them again (e.g. IR remote).
Progress will be to keep the existing and ADD something!
The only thing I enjoy with the Gear S3 is the look. I felt an improvement in quality, but nothing else. Hope that new intersting apps will get on board soon and that firmware update will be able to correct irrealistic figures from all sensors in that watch.
I fully agree with all of you.
I can use Google maps now with Directions, but even that one I have to start manually.
Toggles was new for me. (Thanks)
But still a lot of handy things as in the first part of Nigel's story.
Quick read my mail, etc etc, coming from a ,not too bad, Sony Smartwatch, its great.
And we have this beautiful KLM airline app.
S-Voice is a drama. (no Dutch)
But this is the Tizen choice. We knew it... lets face it.
Huib
Does anyone know if android wear 2.0 will support android pay on rooted phones? The only reason I'm keeping my Gear S3 is for samsung pay. The rest is too buggy as mentioned here. The other reason is spotify, which rarely works well for me anymore.
soundneedle said:
Does anyone know if android wear 2.0 will support android pay on rooted phones? The only reason I'm keeping my Gear S3 is for samsung pay. The rest is too buggy as mentioned here. The other reason is spotify, which rarely works well for me anymore.
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There first has to be a watch that supports Android pay with nfc. Right now there isn't any and idk looks like they might not let root users unless they make a separate app for Android pay for watches like Samsung did for Samsung pay for the gear s3 on how it is separate from the Samsung pay phone version. We should know hopefully soon.
Geez!
I was tempted by the Amoled screen vs the LCD of the Moto 360 v2, but as I am an HTC phones user the limitations will be bad.
Though I see there are some custom roms, I wonder if they can fix most of the listed problems?
Samsung Pay with MST keeps me around. Truly groundbreaking on a watch. If you're not using that, then yeah I can see how you'd throw in the towel.
I'm mystified by the lack of app developers as well as Samsung's poor app offerings! I want to be able to read all Flipboard posts! I want better functionality from the calendar. I want Facebook, a better browser and a swyping keyboard! And I want them to fix the WiFi so you can connect to password protected networks!
Sent from my SM-N930T using Tapatalk
kronium said:
Samsung Pay with MST keeps me around. Truly groundbreaking on a watch. If you're not using that, then yeah I can see how you'd throw in the towel.
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Likewise, first impression was "Wow great watch" but after a month with it, it got bland fast so I sold my Canadian version (which didn't have Samsung Pay on it). I found out through the forum that the American versions have Samsung Pay which would work in Canada and that Watchmaker could trigger Tasker so I decided to buy another one. Honestly love the watch now! Samsung Pay IS really groundbreaking and makes this watch totally worth it. (blah blah blah I know, spending money so that you can pay for more stuff you don't need...)
I use tasker to control my home automation so that's a plus too.
I am fully aware that the Gear S3 is a smartwatch first and sport tracker second. But Samsung come on, at least have Strava come -on-board with a native app, S-Health sucks big time.
Yup. It seems to work okay with cycling. Just okay.
S Health is a humongous battery hog.
And how about a Pandora native app also.
I use the watch daily. I can see my notifications (text and Gmail) on the watch without looking at my phone. I also use Samsung Pay almost daily. I have the LTE version, so it it nice to be able to have a stand-alone device if needed. There are many, many reasons I like this watch. However, I think it is obvious that there is a huge lack of usable apps for this watch. Clearly, this is mostly because of Tizen, but Samsung is to blame for that. They have taken little initiative to get real app development. They could at least create a bridge that would allow some Android apps to function on Tizen. They are very hoggish and want to control all aspects of the watch for themselves but aren't moving fast to do so. They offer a BMW app for the watch, but how many people drive a BMW? Why not offer a Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge app, etc...? The list is way too long to mention here of usable apps that need to be available for this watch. So, as I have mentioned in other threads, the watch is great...it just severely lacks app development and Samsung's weak attempts (****ty contests) to inspire development is falling way short. I can only hope they change this very soon. Google should be releasing a pretty awesome watch very soon and I'm not sure if Samsung Pay is going to be enough to keep me with the S3. Especially since I can just use my phone for the same thing.
scott14719 said:
I use the watch daily. I can see my notifications (text and Gmail) on the watch without looking at my phone. I also use Samsung Pay almost daily. I have the LTE version, so it it nice to be able to have a stand-alone device if needed. There are many, many reasons I like this watch. However, I think it is obvious that there is a huge lack of usable apps for this watch. Clearly, this is mostly because of Tizen, but Samsung is to blame for that. They have taken little initiative to get real app development. They could at least create a bridge that would allow some Android apps to function on Tizen. They are very hoggish and want to control all aspects of the watch for themselves but aren't moving fast to do so. They offer a BMW app for the watch, but how many people drive a BMW? Why not offer a Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge app, etc...? The list is way too long to mention here of usable apps that need to be available for this watch. So, as I have mentioned in other threads, the watch is great...it just severely lacks app development and Samsung's weak attempts (****ty contests) to inspire development is falling way short. I can only hope they change this very soon. Google should be releasing a pretty awesome watch very soon and I'm not sure if Samsung Pay is going to be enough to keep me with the S3. Especially since I can just use my phone for the same thing.
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I agree with everything you say except SPay! Amen!
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Ditto the two above posts...
I bought the watch 2 weeks ago and I love the way it functions personally. S health got a major upgrade 2 weeks ago, and to get the most of it you need to check off the activities that you like in the S gear app. So far I have just run and walked using this app. and it gives heart rate, and let's you know your pace and calories burned. I have yet to track weight training, and such. The Under Armor apps are there, but I seem to get and invalid email error so far. One of the best keeps getting better since the last heart rate monitoring addition.