Database Info

[Q] BMW Bluetooth

Hi,
I am trying to get up to speed on Bluetooth capabilities for my soon to arrive F10 (2011, 530d).
Does anyone have deep technical knowledge on the Bluetooth interface/version/capabilities of an F10 Bimmer?
Or know where can get hold of it? Does BMW provide a developer portal for 3rd party software developers or is it handled case-by-case with vendors like Apple, Microsoft, HTC, Nokia, Sony Ericsson etc.?
The reason for my inquiry is that I am trying to understand on a low level why so many phones differ in available capabilities when paired with a bimmer. It is of course related to the services exposed via the phone..but one should be able to tweek it
For instance only Symbian based phones seems to provide Office support like email, SMS etc. Datalink support is also lacking on many modern smartphones like iPhone and Android (not all versions but in general the support is limited).
(I am posting in the general Android forum since I have a HTC Desire...)
Regards

this is a good question, i to have run in to this. why is there such good support for iphone but the bmw office cant work with it? why no support for android? if you find any info on this let me know.

[Q] "Remote Android Client"

I have been very intrigued about the functionality of available remote desktop clients for the android platform, allowing control of one's PC via 3g/4g data or WiFi.
The question that I pose today is,
"Is there a 'Remote Android Client' available for the Android phone and PC to control an Android phone over 3g/4g or WiFi from a PC?"
The specifics of the software that I am seeking are,
Full access and permissions over a rooted phone.
Full gps, bluetooth, and network functionality.
-Including other additional features.
Is this available? Can a program like this be made?

[Q] Making the jump from android to WP7! uncertainties arised? =[

Hello there, I'm about to make the big jump from android to windows phone 7!
I love android but I hate so much of it at the same time, for instance the lack of a decent media manager, doubletwist has too many issues and a lack of features!
Regardless I'm now making the switch to the Lumia 900 thought I've got a few uncertainties I'm hoping people can clarify for me.
1)Contacts- At the moment, I love google contacts, it works so seamlessly and gmail is a pleasure to use! However switching to WP7 is going to mean I have to use live, which is alright but it's a laggy mess in comparison to gmail I find. It's a mess to work around and it keeps shoving ****ty Bing in my face! Any way I can still use gmail or at least make the whole live experience less...crap?
2)Zune- I love the zune interface, one of the main reasons I'm switching but how are updates coming along for it? It's beautiful to look at however it hasn't been updated in quiet some time and there's vital features missing, for instance a repeat button! How well does this sync with WP7, I'm hoping beautifully with my entire library and all my custom playlists? One of the main reasons I'm switching
3)Docking- no docks i'm assuming, I want iphone docking abilities but since there's no feature on microusb to output audio that's a lost cause =[ However there's talk of a microsoft dock, what's that all about anyone know?
4)Updates- with talks of WP Apollo I'm worried about when to get a phone. I really like the lumia 800 and i'm holding out for the 900 just for those extra few features like a front facing camera since my contract just finished, not to mention my HTC desire is dead hence I'm using a replacement.
In fact would you say it's even worth waiting for the 900?? Since it's really not that different!
5)Bluetooth- I presumed this was standard but I can stream music via bluetooth to bluetooth speakers right with the 800/900???? I heard people saying it wasn't capable?
6)Dual-Boot?- Any hope of dual booting android?
7Free games/apps- Android had thousands of free apps and games, how does WP7 fare in this department?
Thank you for your help!

1) WP7 can use your Google contacts, Calendar, and sync your Gmail account just fine. You need to have a Windows Live account, but you don't really ahve to do anything with it. If you already have a Xbox Live account or Zune Tag, just use that. FWIW, I personally really don't like either the Windows Live or Google web interfaces, but prefer Bing over Google for first-try searching (I'll try the other if I don't find what I want right off the bat, but I usually find what I want faster if I start with Bing).
1.1) Be aware that Bing is pretty integrated into Windows Phone, while Google is not. In fact, Google has very few apps for the phone. Although the integration with Google services like Gmail and Calendar is good, others like Talk, Voice, Docs, and G+ is not. Google has (not a huge surprise) shown very little interest in developing apps for WP7.
2) Zune gets updates every now and then. The last was just before Mango came out, call it five or six months ago. It definitely supports Repeat though, both on the phone and on the PC... As for syncing with WP7, it's very good. You can choose what types of media to automatically sync, you can manually sync anything, and yes, things like custom playlists are certainly supported. If you've added a folder to your "Libraries" in Windows, the Zune software will see it and be able to sync it. You can also manually add additional folders.
3) I don't know anything here. There's a "Dock Mode" app on HTC, but as far as I know there's no standard dock interface on WP7. All the phones use MicroUSB, but they don't put the ports in the same place or anything.
4) So far, all updates have been available for all phones. I don't know how long that'll keep up, but Mango isn't even slightly laggy on my first-gen HD7 so I expect it'll remain true for a while. The only reason to wait for a newer phone is if you want new hardware features; the software is almost entirely the same across all phones and all generations. None of that Android fragmentation, where a device may be running an obsolete major version at its release, never be brought fully up to date, and abandoned six months later while there's still a long wait on your contract.
5) WP7 can stream music to A2DP BlueTooth devices, and can use Headset profile BlueTooth as well (of course). It's a little more limited than other smartphones in terms of BlueTooth - no native support for file transfer or BT tethering, for example - but it's generally suficient and MS has added capabilities in previous updates so hopefully that will keep going.
6) So far, no natively WP7 devices can run Android. It's theoretically possible, but you'd need both an unlocked bootloader and a port of Android to the device's hardware. The only phone I know of that can run both WP7 and Android is the HTC HD2, and that actually comes with Windows Mobile, not WP7 *or* Android. It's also a bit old and becoming hard to buy.
7) There are many thousands of free apps, or apps with functional trial versions, in the WP7 Marketplace. That includes games. It's certainly not as vast (yet) as iOS or Android, but those platforms have huge head-starts. It's growing very rapidly. Microsoft has also put some effort into "must-have" apps and games, although generally those end up costing a few dollars. Almost all paid apps have trials, though.

Thanks for the help. =)
How is tethering as a general? I love my wi-fi hotspot on my desire. One of the BEST things about the phone. How is it on the Lumias and WP7 in general?
Didn't realise Zune had been updated(updating after this post!)
So it is definitely possible to keep my WP7 contacts synced with google? if so YAY!
Also iOS jailbreaking, android rooting. What about WP7? And as bad as it is, is there a way to install 'free' apps. Not that one ever would partake in such criminal activities, I'm just curious I guess?

Most WP7 devices offer WiFi hotspot tethering. It depends on the carrier (some disable it entirely, others charge for it) and the phone (I've heard surprising claims that the Lumia 710 doesn't permit it, even though T-Mobile US generally does - hopefully they push an update soon to fix that). Where it's supported, it works well.
The last Zune update was, as I said, months ago... but yeah, if you don't have a Repeat button you're ona very old version. The current version is 4.8.something.
Yeah, syncing contacts with Google is very easy. When I create a contact on the phone, I get the option of storing it on my Google account instead of my Live or Exchange accounts.
So far, nobody has managed to root the Lumias or install custom ROMs, but they're still quite new. Until a month or so back, the same was true of the Samsung WP7 devices (at least for custom ROMs; they were rooted months ago). I'm sure that, as the Lumias become more popular, they too will be rooted and have their bootloaders unlocked.
Discussion of piracy is quite frowned upon here on XDA-Devs. The only legit reason I can think of for a potential user to ask about it is if they're also a potential developer and are concerned about their apps being pirated. That said, there are some protections but they can be worked around. Microsoft has said they're going to start encrypting the Marketplace apps though, and that will make it much more difficult.

If you're seriously interested in dual booting, I'll have a Telstra (fully AT&T compatible) HTC HD2 available for sale as soon as Internet Sharing becomes enabled on the Lumia 800. It's a hard to find version of the phone.

[Q] Will it work as iOS in regard of apps?

Hi,
I would like to change my current phone (ZTE Blade with Android 2.3). I am not to happy with the phone and not to happy with Android either. I got iPad1 but I am not a big fan of iOS as well.
All Windows Phone devices looks cool and prices for decent model are not as high as for iPhone. Unfortunately WP is very unpopular and since none of my friends got one there is no way I can find out few things about it.
Perhaps you will be kind enough to answer my questions?
1. On iOS there is no problem in getting apps from different markets. I live in Poland but with VPN service I got access to NBC, ABC, Hulu, etc. Getting an app is simple - you just switch iTunes account and as long as US or UK app is free I can download it without problem.
Android is a bit more difficult... had to root the phone (with some help) and for stuff like that I need to look in the internet no in Google Play shop.
As far as I know WP requires Live ID and this determines what is available to us. Switching Live ID's = hard reset :-(
So, question is: can I get (and how difficult is it) apps from US and UK markets to my phone?
If answer to Q1 is YES (with some details, please ) - than:
2. Will it work on any WP device or (like wit Android phones) some of them are "no go" in this area?
3. Does WP has a VPN client/support?
4. How features like above will or do influence Windows 8? Both WP & Win8 would be a great tandem but from what I know it looks that MS will try to "lock" both in order to make cash on appstore. Is this correct?
5. One more thing, is it possible to use WP device as GSM router for other devices (like in Android phones)?

Hi,
Some short answers here too
Your phone out of the box with your live id can't download/install apps from other marketplaces. It is possible to sideload apps, but I haven't done it so far, 'cause in Germany and for me I found everything needed. Don't know how the situation in Poland looks like.
WP7 does not support VPN. VPN will come in WP8, as Microsoft said in some dev blogs.
MS won't lock W8 to the new store. But you have to differ between W8 x86 and W8 RT (ARM). W8 RT will - I suppose - have some sort of lock like WP7 (and possibly WP8).
Yes, it's called Internet Connection Sharing, but it is not enabled on all devices. It depends on the device manufacturer. WP7 is able to share the connection, but if the manufacturer don't want the device to do it or maybe they want to save money in the development of the device ( ) you can't to it without some little hacking.

Does any one knows... if I will buy let say Lumia 800 in Poland, will I be able to:
- connect to the VPN service I am using?
- install Netflix (US market only)
- install Hulu + (as above)
- install BBC iPlayer (UK market only)
- usie the phone as mobile router
Where do I look for info. - how to do it?

The only current way to VPN on WP7 is to connect to a network that is already using a VPN (WiFi, such as by Internet Connection Sharing from your PC, or by plugging in the phone to the PC and running the Zune software, which will create an Ethernet-over-USB network for the phone).
I can't say for sure about the Marketplace access. It will depend on your credit card, your Microsoft account, and your VPN (if you use one), and possibly even your mobile operator.
Sharing the phone's Internet connection is a supported WP7 feature, but I'm not sure if the Lumia 800 supports it yet. The feature is called "Internet Sharing" and is in the Settings hub. It's available on all Samsung Windows phones, and I think on all HTCs too. Not sure if it's on the Lumias yet, but Nokia has said they were working on it some time ago. Note that if your carrier blocks or requires payment for this service (sharing the cellular Internet connection), the phone will block the feature until you comply. There are hacks to work around that restriction entirely, but those hacks are only currently possible on Samsung, HTC gen1, LG, Lumia 710, and a few Lumia 800 phones.

Thanks for your answer.
As much as I would love to dump Android - I simply can not :-(.

These Android apps for WP7???

Hi guys, today I saw Nokia WP7 Lumia 800, before myself.
No doubt WP7 looked Beautiful. I mean Android is far better in definition of smartphone, for e.g. True multitasking, etc. but I never found Android OS beautiful.
I had Android in my hand (CM7 with complete ICS look, also ICS status bar), and my friend had WP7, and WP7 looked amazingly beautiful.
Personally I would love an OS which is beautiful, since I look at it (the OS), and I'm not a huge app user. Also I'm not a user who does not need apps running in background. Here are the apps that I use on Android (only these apps)----
1) App Lock - Prevent unauthorized access for any person to any of my apps (Very useful)
2) Calculus Tools
3) Handy Calc
4) Concise Offline Dictionary (Very useful)
5) Moon Reader (epub reader ebook reader) (Very Very useful)
6) MX Player (Very useful, plays any video format)
7) Opera Mini & Opera Mobile (Very useful, saves data cost, but IE10 does same, opera saves 97% how much IE10?)
8) USB Tunnel (Reverse Tether, very useful)
So, I want to ask, are these apps ( or there replacement apps )are available on WP7 market, or WP8 market???
I'm looking forward to buy WP8 in future. Please reply if you know these apps or replacement apps are available for WP7 orWP8?
Also, Windows is major PC OS, and I'll always have Windows ( Mac never ), and Windows PC has many software, so there is great possibility that WP8 will see many new apps in market, ( WP8 ports of the PC softwares ). Also looking for full integration with my PC. ( like iOS and MAC).

"App Lock" sounds like something that should be provided by the OS. On WP7 you can easily set a PIN or password, and configure the phone's lock behavior in other ways. That said, I don't know of a way to lock apps without also locking the rest of the phone (although some behaviors, like taking pictures or placing calls using voice, can be enabled even while the phone is locked if you want them to be).
The calculator that comes with the phone is very good, but if you want something more like a graphing calculator (or otherwise intnded for calculus) you'll need an app. I don't know how good they are, since I just tend to use the Scientific and Programmer calculator modes (which are built in), but such apps do exist.
There are a number of offline dictionary apps, for sure. English is well-supported, but quite a few lenguages are in the offline dictionary app list.
There are many Ebook reader apps. I personally use the Kindle app (which takes minor hacking to use with ebooks not from the Kindle store, and uses .MOBI or .PRC files) but there are several free apps for EPUB as well.
Not sure about media player apps. Most of them just support the codecs built into the phone (which are a good selection, but hardly all-encompassing). Apps are allowed to implement additional codecs, but I have never personally used any that do. Zune software on the PC can transcode most codecs to something the phone can read when you sync the files from your PC, though.
Opera (mini and mobile) for Windows Phone is currently only available on fully-unlocked custom ROMs, though it may be made to work on root-unlocked stock ROMs soon. I don't know about the data savings of Windows Phone IE.
USB Tunnel is for letting the phone connect through the PC's Internet connection? That feature is built into the OS. When the phone connects to the Zune software on the PC, it automatically enables Ethernet over USB.
Please bear in mind that nobody knows anything much about what will be available for WP8 right now. It was ony just announced, is still months from release, and there's very little meaningful and reliable information about it available yet.