Database Info

Android and why I want WiMo back

For almost 2 years I used a Touch Diamond. While WiMo is far from perfect in todays world with a bit of tweaking and some extra software I had a device that did what I wanted it to do. Sure, WiMo isnt what you´d call fast but as said, it did what it had to do.
For the past few days I´ve been using android with my new htc legend. I heard a lot of good things about android and that is why I decided to switch. But even after a few days I´m already having a feeling of regret. While android is very fast and finger friendly the OS/apps itself just don't cut it compared to WiMo. About 75% of the things I did on a daily basis with my phone just don't work (properly) on android.
Syncing mail with hotmail is a *****. It for example does not sync read messages so everytime I login with my pc I still have to click all new messages while I already read them on my phone. This worked perfectly with WiMo.
No automatic 3g disconnect. Now this isnt default on WiMo either but there are apps that just disconnect a idle data connection. Now android has a whole bunch of apps like juicedefender but they just dont work properly and are overcomplicated. Just disconnect if I don't use it. Thats all I want. Let apps and whatever connect when they want to and kill the connection when they are done. Simple you'd think but impossible on android it seems.
Youtube is a epic fail. In the exact same place, with the exact same simcard I just can't load a movie. They all stop after 3 seconds and don't load further. Also there is no option for always having HQ. The WiMo app had this and I could always load HQ movies without trouble.
But it gets even worse when it comes to much more practical things. The browser won't save exchange webmail login info. So now I'm expected to loging like 5 times a day to my uni mail by typing my info every time? Not nice.
And what about displaying agenda items? can't do that on the lockscreen. There are apps to do this but not on the htc sense one as far as I've seen. So I have to manually check my agenda which is just a ***** because I'm just to seeing things come up on the homescreen.
Also I can't login to the uni website. You should get a login popup but the android browser doesnt seem to be capable of this. Ofcourse this was no problem at all with a 2 year old browser... So now I can't check schedules and all.
Also there is no way to stream my favorite internet radio station.
Basically I pay 10 euro's a month for internet on my phone but all apps I regulairy use with internet don't work or only work a bit on android.
Don't get me wrong, I love the speed and all but what good is speed to me if I can't use most of the functions that are important to me? What is even more disturbing is that non of the things I want to do are very special. This should all just work but it seems to be far above what android is capable of.
Basically to me android is a disfunctional OS. If the above things would work, I'd love it but now all I got is speed, but no way of doing the things I want.
Nice try, but not quite it.

sjaak1234 said:
Syncing mail with hotmail is a *****. It for example does not sync read messages so everytime I login with my pc I still have to click all new messages while I already read them on my phone. This worked perfectly with WiMo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's hardly Android error - it just seems to be a bug in the mail client app. Maybe yry another one?
No automatic 3g disconnect. Now this isnt default on WiMo either but there are apps that just disconnect a idle data connection. Now android has a whole bunch of apps like juicedefender but they just dont work properly and are overcomplicated. Just disconnect if I don't use it. Thats all I want. Let apps and whatever connect when they want to and kill the connection when they are done. Simple you'd think but impossible on android it seems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not as simple as it sounds - android has to have an active data connection to enable IM messages as well as gmail imap notifications. Unlike POP3 e-mail accounts where you have to querry the server for new e-mails once in a while, gmail actually sends information to your phone when you get an email. And this wouldn't be possible if the connection was turned off.
And if you don't want to use gmail or gtalk, just disable background data in android's data sync settings and the 3g module won't eat your battery when unneeded. Don't worry, android is much smarter with power management than winMo and the fact that you didn't disable something by hand doesn't mean that it's eating your battery.
It's like GPS - even if it;s turned on in options/on power control wigdet the module isn't physically powered up until an app requests to use it. And when it's done the module powers down again. But still you see people disabling gps support in options after exiting maps believing that it will save some battery, or even requesting an app that would disable the switch on power control wigdet.
So just remember - it's a different OS, it has different rules and the fact that you did something by hand in winMo doesn't mean you have to do it here.
Youtube is a epic fail. In the exact same place, with the exact same simcard I just can't load a movie. They all stop after 3 seconds and don't load further. Also there is no option for always having HQ. The WiMo app had this and I could always load HQ movies without trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, this seems to be a problem with your rom/app version. I (and many other people) don't have any trouble with YT on android.
As for the HQ, it's turned on automatically when you're on wifi, on a gsm connection it defaults to standard quality. Personally i like this behavior but i agree that there should be an option to change that for people with huge/unlimited data plans.
But it gets even worse when it comes to much more practical things. The browser won't save exchange webmail login info. So now I'm expected to loging like 5 times a day to my uni mail by typing my info every time? Not nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird, but also not android bug, just the browser. You might want to try some alternatives (like dolphin, skyfire, opera mini)
And what about displaying agenda items? can't do that on the lockscreen. There are apps to do this but not on the htc sense one as far as I've seen. So I have to manually check my agenda which is just a ***** because I'm just to seeing things come up on the homescreen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, and since when does WinMo display the agenda without any additional software? But i agree, htc really should make some "upcomming events" widget, and default android could use one as well. For now i use "CalWidget" and i know of "pure calendar widget" (paid). I don't know it they're compatible with sense but it may be worth a try
Also I can't login to the uni website. You should get a login popup but the android browser doesnt seem to be capable of this. Ofcourse this was no problem at all with a 2 year old browser... So now I can't check schedules and all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, hard to blame android for that. Some alternative browser might help (maybe opera mini?).
Also there is no way to stream my favorite internet radio station.
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Click to collapse
There is no way to do that or maybe you just don't know a way to do it? Try DroidLive (it might even have this station in its database) or StreamFurious. Both have usable free versions.
Don't get me wrong, I love the speed and all but what good is speed to me if I can't use most of the functions that are important to me? What is even more disturbing is that non of the things I want to do are very special. This should all just work but it seems to be far above what android is capable of.
Basically to me android is a disfunctional OS. If the above things would work, I'd love it but now all I got is speed, but no way of doing the things I want.
Nice try, but not quite it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, seems to me that you don't really have a problem with android but you just got screwed by HTC and their customized version of android
If i were you, i'd just look for an unofficial rom. It might actually fix all your problems.
Also, part of your woes seems to be the fact that you knew winMo, knew the tweaks and apps you needed to make the device do what you want. Going over to android is a fresh start where you have to find out everything again. I know, i had similar feelings on a stock rom on my G1 after being a hardcore winMo user But after some research and grabbing a new rom and few extra apps android is way more functional than winMo for me and i don't feel like ever going back.
Just give it a chance and do some research.

Android platform has to mature a lot.
WM without xda is a hell.

You really need to find a new ROM. I've never had one single issue you're talking about.
Edit: And I'm using a myTouch running 1.6.

mr_deimos said:
That's hardly Android error - it just seems to be a bug in the mail client app. Maybe yry another one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be, though I doubt that. But I might try a different one.
It's not as simple as it sounds
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Click to collapse
I know all that. But for me it does not seem to work perfectly. If I disable data connection always on (I never actually completely disable it), it still leaves it open. I checked overnight compared with just totally disabling it and it made a clear difference in the battery charge left. Its not like GPS where the icon actally dissapears when you don't use it but this doesnt happen with 3g so far as I can see it, it still uses more power than when disabling it.
I understand all the google stuff needs it, but I don't use any of it so for me its rather useless.
Again, this seems to be a problem with your rom/app version. I (and many other people) don't have any trouble with YT on android.
As for the HQ, it's turned on automatically when you're on wifi, on a gsm connection it defaults to standard quality. Personally i like this behavior but i agree that there should be an option to change that for people with huge/unlimited data plans.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did some more reachers on this and the problems seems to exist on a lot of different models/rom versions. I got the latest 2.1 rom for legend so I should have the latest (v1.5 I believe).
Weird, but also not android bug, just the browser. You might want to try some alternatives (like dolphin, skyfire, opera mini)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I reacherd a bit more and it seems to be a IIS and android problem. Wm and Iphone have the same problem but they just ignore the IIS message and continue. I tried Opera and it has the same problem. Btw, I think Opera on android is a long way off from Opera on WM. Still missing lots of functions I think.
IIS problem for the website login btw. Not sure why the exchange site doesnt save credentials but that seems to be misconfiguration. For example it wont even work on most desktop browsers either.
Okay, and since when does WinMo display the agenda without any additional software? But i agree, htc really should make some "upcomming events" widget, and default android could use one as well. For now i use "CalWidget" and i know of "pure calendar widget" (paid). I don't know it they're compatible with sense but it may be worth a try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes ofcourse with extra software I will try the apps you posted. Thanks.
There is no way to do that or maybe you just don't know a way to do it? Try DroidLive (it might even have this station in its database) or StreamFurious. Both have usable free versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the problem. They work with their own databases. I just want to load a .pls or m3u file in a player and have it connect.
Well, seems to me that you don't really have a problem with android but you just got screwed by HTC and their customized version of android
If i were you, i'd just look for an unofficial rom. It might actually fix all your problems.
Also, part of your woes seems to be the fact that you knew winMo, knew the tweaks and apps you needed to make the device do what you want. Going over to android is a fresh start where you have to find out everything again. I know, i had similar feelings on a stock rom on my G1 after being a hardcore winMo user But after some research and grabbing a new rom and few extra apps android is way more functional than winMo for me and i don't feel like ever going back.
Just give it a chance and do some research.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you are right. I know everything about WM and for me android still has a lot of things beneath its skin I don't know. If the apps I want exist I could fix some of my problems.
But some problems are just android related. The whole website thing is a combination of android and IIS configuration that don't play nice. Nothing HTC can do about this, nor can any custom rom. Its something google needs to fix. Ofcourse, if my uni would change their IIS settings it could also fix the problem but I don't think I can get them to change settings just for me.
For me that really needs to work because its a daily function for me.
Also I wonder if some things can be done. For example in WM you can just select to only use your provider. I still havn't found a way to completely disable roaming on android. Fortunatly its easy to prevent data roaming.

[Q] Transformer browsers force closing

I keep having my browsers stop, they wont finish loading and then when I touch on the address search bar or refresh button on the screen I get the force close message. I'm having problems with the stock browser and also the dolphin hd browser too. It happens after about 10 minutes and I can't find any correlation with certain sites, it's just after a little time no matter what I'm looking at. I did a search and only came across someone saying they were having a problem but it was a xoom and they were also rooted. My transformer is all stock and only about a week old. Does anyone have any suggestions or anything? Besides that I love this thing. Thanks for the help.

some sites are inaccessible without crashing to the desktop. Web browsing is one of the major use cases for the transformer. It will be nice if this geta fixed.

Are you serious? I researched tide tablet for weeks before i decided on it. I knew about the cameras and taking videos not being good, I knee there was a chance for light bleed, and also that there were some problems with hd video playback sometimes. I hadn't read anything however on browsing problems. I tried Firefox and opera along with dolphin and they all stop and crash. I don't understand why someone didn't mention this in their reviews with it being a problem. I've had no problems with light bleed, video playback and the camera is fine for me, but the browsing problem would have dissuaded me from purchasing if I would have known. Is there no fixes at all?

The problem is java script, try to disable java

amstaff72 said:
I keep having my browsers stop, they wont finish loading and then when I touch on the address search bar or refresh button on the screen I get the force close message. I'm having problems with the stock browser and also the dolphin hd browser too. It happens after about 10 minutes and I can't find any correlation with certain sites, it's just after a little time no matter what I'm looking at. I did a search and only came across someone saying they were having a problem but it was a xoom and they were also rooted. My transformer is all stock and only about a week old. Does anyone have any suggestions or anything? Besides that I love this thing. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On Monday I'll have my Transformer for 2 weeks. I just started having browser crashes yesterday only after a couple of minutes of browsing. This has happened on yahoo & xda. At the time I was trying to copy & paste. What I don't understand is I wasn't having problems before.
Also, I am unable to do a search on XDA. The search & keyboard come up monetarily then close.

Are you guys running stock 3.1 honeycomb?

Malandro2011 said:
Are you guys running stock 3.1 honeycomb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, stock & not rooted

I never get force closing pop ups but everynow and then the browser just closes... but then it depends on the website
I;m running overclocked prime

Mine is just stock, I haven't rooted mine either. I can usually browse for 10 minutes or so before mine stops then force closes. It seems strange that it just started after 2 weeks for the one person. If the problem is Java and I turn it off won't that limit some of the sites? I hate to be limited on browsing, otherwise you might as well get a dang ipad. I hope we find a fix for this it's driving me crazy.

Stock, 3.1 not rooted. The crashing is site specific. It happens with Dolphin as well. Xscope will handle the site, but it has other usability issues (like no zoom) . Do other tablets (zoom,tab 10.1,etc) have these issues? I love paying to be a beta tester.

Same problem here, browser crashes on certain webpages without a warning, switching java off solves the problem but this shouldn't be a solution

Turning off Java Script does indeed help a lot it seems - faster loading and far less crashes. As a web technology noob what do I lose w/o Java script? I browse mostly news/science/tech blogs and forums. Not to many interactive (save Facebook of course).
Any good tips on what losing JV scrips limits?
Thanks!

This has been discussed before Its a known issues (at least to us that have them) and its pretty annoying to say the least. Turning off javascript helps in two different ways (stops crashes and speeds up browsing), but some pages wont display correctly without it.

i resolved crashes with "adfree"

I've never seen my browser as prone to crash or sluggish on the transformer. The only thing I configured is to start plugins on click only (like poor man flashblock - but I prefer it this way on my desktop Chrome too). Running stock 3.1.

i wwill try the adfree and I will post my results.

I've had my Transformer for about three weeks and besides slowing down quite a bit the stock browser and Dolphin have been crashing regularly as of last week. I'm running stock 3.1 - not rooted or anything. It's gotten bad enough that I've basically stopped using it and am using my Acer W500 and iPad. I can put up with some problems in a new unit but if I had known that Honeycomb was as buggy as it seems to be so far I probably would not have purchased this.

i got mine last week, the default browser performance is unacceptable. It just crashes without any warning. Clicking comboboxes , checkboxes and even links in some cases is far too difficult to get right with one go, there are instances where you simply cant do it at all , even after zooming all the way in. Turning off JavaScript is not an option for me, there are simply too many sites using JavaScript for their manus n stuff. Now using dolphin browser, seemsmuch better, but still unreble.I am a huge android supporter, i have a galaxy s and i love it. But recently i compared this against an ipad 2, i hate to say this but with current firmware (3.1 stock, not rooted) this tablet is far inferior to the ipad when it comes to web browsing. I hate apple products,but at this point id rather have an ipad, over this

bithir said:
I've never seen my browser as prone to crash or sluggish on the transformer. The only thing I configured is to start plugins on click only (like poor man flashblock - but I prefer it this way on my desktop Chrome too). Running stock 3.1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try loading gmail web site and see how sluggish the performance is.

Browser Cache
I cleared my browser cache and this seemed to fix it. can someone test and post results?

Transformer browser restarting

I am finally using the Transformer on vacation and the browser is erroring with a "force restart" message. Can be using 2-4hrs and message pops up. Not very nice.
On the latest build. What gives..Is this to be expected on Ver3.2?
Now i will say this...My wife's iPad has never done this..would hate to buy Apple but you cannot fault a Apple not working 99.9%..100% if flash gets loaded and with Steve Jobs gone this will happen.

use dolphin hd tablet.

Use opera browser, I think it's the best browser for the TF ATM, dolphin HD is good also but it's slower and laggier then opera for me...
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

I don't have any problems with the stock browser FC and my wife doesn't have an iPad so maybe that's the Problem?

mikelt89 said:
Use opera browser, I think it's the best browser for the TF ATM, dolphin HD is good also but it's slower and laggier then opera for me...
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok and installed. Let's see how this behaves.

Some quick comments:
1. Open web sites at first are slower..about 10secs more then stock browser
2. Flash is work fine
3. Pages are scrolling smoother then stock browser
More to come...

To the OP, android did not just come out yesterday. If you really hate android stock browser before trying out other alternatives, you should get yourself an ipad.
I've actually seen people complain about the black area around the screen on the iconia and transformer. I told those people to get an ipad because [sarcasm] the ipad has no black area around its screen at all[/sarcasm].

I have the same problems with the latest version
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

goodintentions said:
To the OP, android did not just come out yesterday. If you really hate android stock browser before trying out other alternatives, you should get yourself an ipad.
I've actually seen people complain about the black area around the screen on the iconia and transformer. I told those people to get an ipad because [sarcasm] the ipad has no black area around its screen at all[/sarcasm].
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stated that the stock browser after 2-5hrs of use gives a "force restart" pop-up message. I am using a "stock" unit with the lastest firmware. I am trying another browser to see if it works without crashing. Again, since I do have a iPad 1 I can compare on the user experience. Android has some work to do on there platform...FACT
OP:
1. Flash is not 100% working on FP sites...this is noted from OP whitepaper
2. Using 3hrs and no crash message at this time..I use around 8 tabs in the browser.
3. Screen sizing is not as good as stock browser....OP resizing back and forth.
4. There is a lag from the keybard when typing..OS issue as this happens in any app.

Trying flash on both browsers. Flash does not work well on 360 views. It tries but then page displays "stop" symbol then site tab removes itself. Nice..
Site is landrover.com

Cohibajoe said:
I stated that the stock browser after 2-5hrs of use gives a "force restart" pop-up message. I am using a "stock" unit with the lastest firmware. I am trying another browser to see if it works without crashing. Again, since I do have a iPad 1 I can compare on the user experience. Android has some work to do on there platform...FACT
OP:
1. Flash is not 100% working on FP sites...this is noted from OP whitepaper
2. Using 3hrs and no crash message at this time..I use around 8 tabs in the browser.
3. Screen sizing is not as good as stock browser....OP resizing back and forth.
4. There is a lag from the keybard when typing..OS issue as this happens in any app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything needs work. Thats why we have alternatives like firefox or opera. If you want everything to work exactly perfectly on stock you should stick with the ipad.
1, 3, and 4 are not true. Opera and firefox do not lag at all. This is not an os issue. Its software compatibility with the website issue.
Again, thats why we have free alternatives.

goodintentions said:
Everything needs work. Thats why we have alternatives like firefox or opera. If you want everything to work exactly perfectly on stock you should stick with the ipad.
1, 3, and 4 are not true. Opera and firefox do not lag at all. This is not an os issue. Its software compatibility with the website issue.
Again, thats why we have free alternatives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash is spotty on sites..as GM, Shopnbc.tv just to name a few. Basically the tablet is just not as good as a Laptop..The tablet is not 100% ready for Primetime...Apple still has the support of the business and OS..while no tablet at this time can replace a Laptop..I still will support my TF...BUT that's why use a Alienware M11x...light and ultra fast and works 100%..
I just uninstall OP.....going to test Dolphin Browser HD

Just one more note on OP:
When streaming video, the video remains playing as in Standard Browser or Dolphin this pauses the stream when switching to other tabs. This is very nice as with me having 8 or 9 tabs going at a time I can have streaming music in the background.
Now..Dolphin was able to work a little better for flash at landrover.com, Shopnbctv worked 100%. This app has a lot of setup options....

Since last firmware upgrade I noticed frequent browser crashes to the homescreen.
Suddenly the browser window disppears, and I am back at the homescreen, without the browser window I was watching being saved - when I restart the browser I am back at my starting page.
Did not find any solution!

^x2 same problems
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

kaylord84 said:
^x2 same problems
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back using OP...why....it works.
I was in the middle of placing a order with Stock Browser and got a "force start" message. Luckily i quickly loaded OP and completed my watch order...Shopnbc.com
This "bug" needs to be addressed by Google...I was going to grab the wifes iPad as this purchase needed to go thru....but OP came thru...

kaylord84 said:
^x2 same problems
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me to. Sometimes more frequent then others.

Cohibajoe said:
the browser is erroring with a "force restart" message. Can be using 2-4hrs and message pops up. Not very nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My browser under 3.2 rebooted spontaneously one time. Other than that, I love it. Flash works smoothly, pages render fast enough, and the menu list when you touch the extreme right edge is fabulous.

I'm playing around too. When I first got 3.2 I though the browser was better. Now it seems to crash all the time. I've been using OP and it works pretty well. The sizing issues are annoying, but it works.
Hopefully, Google will get this fixed. The browser on my Vibrant (Froyo) is rock solid.
I'll give Dolphin its shot too. I would be ok with a little slower if it was stable.

Glad to see I'm not the only one with this issue. I've had it happen multiple times right now - really pronounced on Amazon's site when browsing through items.
Also noticed that my "go back" button (the arrow, not the browser's actual back button) no longer functions as expected. I used to be able to hit that to go back to the previous page - now it takes several tries or me going to the top of the page and using the actual back button to go back. Anyone know of a fix? It's been a problem since the last OTA.

Microsoft surface experience?

Hello guys. For those who have used the Microsoft surface, can you share your experience? I am just curious about its speed, performance, and how user friendly it is
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

I love mine. I find the interface refreshing and unique, the people app lets me do way more with social media than I have been able to do in the past. Typing on the touch cover is still a bit of a challenge but they are saying it takes a few days to get it done properly. Speed wise, there are no issues. Mine is snappy and responsive. Battery life is amazing. I can use it all day 6am until 7pm and still only be down to around 30-40% battery remaining. There is a lack of apps but nothing that I can't wait out. I expected the ecosystem will take a bit to get going and I'm willing to wait. I sold my ipad with retina and honestly don't miss it at all.

I really love mine the more I use it. I'm typing this on the touchcover and although I make a lot of mistakes I seem to be getting better at it. That said, I do have some issues but nothing that major (yet!). Battery life seems to be much less than the ipad, people report 8-10 hours, I only get like 4-7. The apps are a disappointment, but I plan to use this device productively soo all I really need is dropbox. The device seems to slow down when editing 2 page documents in word. I tried to make a brochure on here and dragging pictures around was a nightmare. I did type a paper onhere and while it took longer then on a regular keyboard it wasn't that bad.
IE 10 for metro is complete trash. Can't even load XDA so I find myself always forced to use the desktop version. If you buy one, I suggest the model higher than 32gb as we really only get lke 14 gb because of the os taking up so much room.
The touchcover gets very dirty it seems. I'm not suire if I can clean it without ruining it. I sneeze on it before and it has a nasty stain =/.
The device itself is very prone to scratches, I tend to try to plug the thing into charge while its dark and that damn connector is such a pita that I always scratch the bezel.
I love the keyboard gestures (which I know can be used on any computer). The UI is very fast, there's a crap ton of gestures to learn. Yet, there are some gripes. Closing an app takes a crazy amount of time. You have to drag all theway from the top of the screen to the bottom, unnecessary.
Overall, I love it and I plan on keeping it. I still have my ipad and my nexus 7 but this really helps me get stuff done. The fact I can plug in almost any usb device and hve it work is amazing. You can even charge cellphones and stuff with the USB. I would recommend getting the surface IF you realize you can't run anything that's not in the store. No browser addons, no exe fils, nothing. Sometime that makes me wish I got the pro, but this device is really enough. Get past the quirkiness of metro + desktop and it's a beast.
Sorry for the typos. This was typed on the touch cover while lying down in bed.
*EDIT* The messenger app sucks realy badly too. You add someone as a friend (which can't be done in the app you have to go to a website) then you can't ever send them a message cause it says "Name unavailable" but they can send you messages. Its a one way form of communication.
*Edit2* Another clunky part. There are no jpg thumbail previews in the desktop. And when you want to open an image it has to open a program in metro

brandonjuraimi said:
Hello guys. For those who have used the Microsoft surface, can you share your experience? I am just curious about its speed, performance, and how user friendly it is
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love the surface responsiveness and the new UI. But still there is still miles to go to get this perfect.
1. After being ON for more than 3 days, clicking on Email opened up weather, can't reach the email by clicking on any of the tiles. Same with IE. I had to reboot.
2. The auto rotate stopped working suddenly. I had to reboot to get it working again.
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
4. There is no Cisco VPN client. If your work requires non standard Cisco VPN connectivity, stay away.
5. Enterprise Distribution of apps isn't clear yet. We shouldn't have to have enterprise apps published to Microsoft Store every time.
6. Silverlight doesn't run on RT? Kidding me?
7. Playing HD video isn't going to be easy. Not even one app which could play MKV files.
8. The copy paste of text inside surface isn't as easy as in iPad. Sometimes it takes too much time to get the needed text selected on IE.
9. Needs tweaking to run Flash on all websites (its a hack. Why?)
10, Pointing the cursor to an exact place in a text area isn't as easy as in iPad with the magnifying glass.
By the way, WHERE IS THE REPORT A PROBLEM button in RT ?
Though I have so many complaints, I still love my Surface. I don't use my iPad anymore. Many times, I had tried to touch my monitor while using my laptop. MS is spoiling me

mchimney said:
I really love mine the more I use it. I'm typing this on the touchcover and although I make a lot of mistakes I seem to be getting better at it. That said, I do have some issues but nothing that major (yet!). Battery life seems to be much less than the ipad, people report 8-10 hours, I only get like 4-7. The apps are a disappointment, but I plan to use this device productively soo all I really need is dropbox. The device seems to slow down when editing 2 page documents in word. I tried to make a brochure on here and dragging pictures around was a nightmare. I did type a paper onhere and while it took longer then on a regular keyboard it wasn't that bad.
IE 10 for metro is complete trash. Can't even load XDA so I find myself always forced to use the desktop version. If you buy one, I suggest the model higher than 32gb as we really only get lke 14 gb because of the os taking up so much room.
The touchcover gets very dirty it seems. I'm not suire if I can clean it without ruining it. I sneeze on it before and it has a nasty stain =/.
The device itself is very prone to scratches, I tend to try to plug the thing into charge while its dark and that damn connector is such a pita that I always scratch the bezel.
I love the keyboard gestures (which I know can be used on any computer). The UI is very fast, there's a crap ton of gestures to learn. Yet, there are some gripes. Closing an app takes a crazy amount of time. You have to drag all theway from the top of the screen to the bottom, unnecessary.
Overall, I love it and I plan on keeping it. I still have my ipad and my nexus 7 but this really helps me get stuff done. The fact I can plug in almost any usb device and hve it work is amazing. You can even charge cellphones and stuff with the USB. I would recommend getting the surface IF you realize you can't run anything that's not in the store. No browser addons, no exe fils, nothing. Sometime that makes me wish I got the pro, but this device is really enough. Get past the quirkiness of metro + desktop and it's a beast.
Sorry for the typos. This was typed on the touch cover while lying down in bed.
*EDIT* The messenger app sucks realy badly too. You add someone as a friend (which can't be done in the app you have to go to a website) then you can't ever send them a message cause it says "Name unavailable" but they can send you messages. Its a one way form of communication.
*Edit2* Another clunky part. There are no jpg thumbail previews in the desktop. And when you want to open an image it has to open a program in metro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In response to some of your issues. I love metro ui based IE and find it loads XDA without issue. A good tip is to enable adblocking filters using the tips in this forum (find the topic called tips). It loads XDA fine now for me.
Closing an app by dragging top to bottom takes a lot of time? It's a half second gesture man. Be realistic. Alot of your complaints are issues that are not issues at all. It's a different UI, give it a break.
---------- Post added at 05:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------
tcsekhar said:
I love the surface responsiveness and the new UI. But still there is still miles to go to get this perfect.
1. After being ON for more than 3 days, clicking on Email opened up weather, can't reach the email by clicking on any of the tiles. Same with IE. I had to reboot.
2. The auto rotate stopped working suddenly. I had to reboot to get it working again.
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
4. There is no Cisco VPN client. If your work requires non standard Cisco VPN connectivity, stay away.
5. Enterprise Distribution of apps isn't clear yet. We shouldn't have to have enterprise apps published to Microsoft Store every time.
6. Silverlight doesn't run on RT? Kidding me?
7. Playing HD video isn't going to be easy. Not even one app which could play MKV files.
8. The copy paste of text inside surface isn't as easy as in iPad. Sometimes it takes too much time to get the needed text selected on IE.
9. Needs tweaking to run Flash on all websites (its a hack. Why?)
10, Pointing the cursor to an exact place in a text area isn't as easy as in iPad with the magnifying glass.
By the way, WHERE IS THE REPORT A PROBLEM button in RT ?
Though I have so many complaints, I still love my Surface. I don't use my iPad anymore. Many times, I had tried to touch my monitor while using my laptop. MS is spoiling me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MKV does not equal HD, so try playing an MP4 or something in HD before making comments like this. So what if it doesn't play MKV format, there are plenty it does play.

cmscritic said:
I love mine. I find the interface refreshing and unique, the people app lets me do way more with social media than I have been able to do in the past. Typing on the touch cover is still a bit of a challenge but they are saying it takes a few days to get it done properly. Speed wise, there are no issues. Mine is snappy and responsive. Battery life is amazing. I can use it all day 6am until 7pm and still only be down to around 30-40% battery remaining. There is a lack of apps but nothing that I can't wait out. I expected the ecosystem will take a bit to get going and I'm willing to wait. I sold my ipad with retina and honestly don't miss it at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow your experience with the Microsoft surface sure is awesome. It sounds awesome and I can't wait to check it out. Not sure if it is available in my country though...
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

mchimney said:
I really love mine the more I use it. I'm typing this on the touchcover and although I make a lot of mistakes I seem to be getting better at it. That said, I do have some issues but nothing that major (yet!). Battery life seems to be much less than the ipad, people report 8-10 hours, I only get like 4-7. The apps are a disappointment, but I plan to use this device productively soo all I really need is dropbox. The device seems to slow down when editing 2 page documents in word. I tried to make a brochure on here and dragging pictures around was a nightmare. I did type a paper onhere and while it took longer then on a regular keyboard it wasn't that bad.
IE 10 for metro is complete trash. Can't even load XDA so I find myself always forced to use the desktop version. If you buy one, I suggest the model higher than 32gb as we really only get lke 14 gb because of the os taking up so much room.
The touchcover gets very dirty it seems. I'm not suire if I can clean it without ruining it. I sneeze on it before and it has a nasty stain =/.
The device itself is very prone to scratches, I tend to try to plug the thing into charge while its dark and that damn connector is such a pita that I always scratch the bezel.
I love the keyboard gestures (which I know can be used on any computer). The UI is very fast, there's a crap ton of gestures to learn. Yet, there are some gripes. Closing an app takes a crazy amount of time. You have to drag all theway from the top of the screen to the bottom, unnecessary.
Overall, I love it and I plan on keeping it. I still have my ipad and my nexus 7 but this really helps me get stuff done. The fact I can plug in almost any usb device and hve it work is amazing. You can even charge cellphones and stuff with the USB. I would recommend getting the surface IF you realize you can't run anything that's not in the store. No browser addons, no exe fils, nothing. Sometime that makes me wish I got the pro, but this device is really enough. Get past the quirkiness of metro + desktop and it's a beast.
Sorry for the typos. This was typed on the touch cover while lying down in bed.
*EDIT* The messenger app sucks realy badly too. You add someone as a friend (which can't be done in the app you have to go to a website) then you can't ever send them a message cause it says "Name unavailable" but they can send you messages. Its a one way form of communication.
*Edit2* Another clunky part. There are no jpg thumbail previews in the desktop. And when you want to open an image it has to open a program in metro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Microsoft surface is still new so it probably still have quite a number of flaws. Hope Microsoft work on it and come out with Microsoft surface 2?
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

tcsekhar said:
I love the surface responsiveness and the new UI. But still there is still miles to go to get this perfect.
1. After being ON for more than 3 days, clicking on Email opened up weather, can't reach the email by clicking on any of the tiles. Same with IE. I had to reboot.
2. The auto rotate stopped working suddenly. I had to reboot to get it working again.
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
4. There is no Cisco VPN client. If your work requires non standard Cisco VPN connectivity, stay away.
5. Enterprise Distribution of apps isn't clear yet. We shouldn't have to have enterprise apps published to Microsoft Store every time.
6. Silverlight doesn't run on RT? Kidding me?
7. Playing HD video isn't going to be easy. Not even one app which could play MKV files.
8. The copy paste of text inside surface isn't as easy as in iPad. Sometimes it takes too much time to get the needed text selected on IE.
9. Needs tweaking to run Flash on all websites (its a hack. Why?)
10, Pointing the cursor to an exact place in a text area isn't as easy as in iPad with the magnifying glass.
By the way, WHERE IS THE REPORT A PROBLEM button in RT ?
Though I have so many complaints, I still love my Surface. I don't use my iPad anymore. Many times, I had tried to touch my monitor while using my laptop. MS is spoiling me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds really troublesome and watching movies and videos is a pain.
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

cmscritic said:
In response to some of your issues. I love metro ui based IE and find it loads XDA without issue. A good tip is to enable adblocking filters using the tips in this forum (find the topic called tips). It loads XDA fine now for me.
Closing an app by dragging top to bottom takes a lot of time? It's a half second gesture man. Be realistic. Alot of your complaints are issues that are not issues at all. It's a different UI, give it a break.
---------- Post added at 05:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------
MKV does not equal HD, so try playing an MP4 or something in HD before making comments like this. So what if it doesn't play MKV format, there are plenty it does play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree MKV does not equal HD. But the best compression today seems to be MKV files, and I have a ton of those. I don't want to convert all of them again into MP4 or any other format at this point. When all other OS supports playing it, why not MS - especially when they are late in the game, and know what the expectations are?

only 4-7 hours? maybe faulty device? everybody has like 8-10.. 4-7 aint too good

mr_dan said:
only 4-7 hours? maybe faulty device? everybody has like 8-10.. 4-7 aint too good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine with continuous use from morning 7AM till 9PM still have 30% juice. I just use for browse & search - no play or video.

tcsekhar said:
Mine with continuous use from morning 7AM till 9PM still have 30% juice. I just use for browse & search - no play or video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Mine is about the same.
---------- Post added at 08:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:33 PM ----------
tcsekhar said:
I agree MKV does not equal HD. But the best compression today seems to be MKV files, and I have a ton of those. I don't want to convert all of them again into MP4 or any other format at this point. When all other OS supports playing it, why not MS - especially when they are late in the game, and know what the expectations are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you mean, I'd love to have it too (especially for the space savings) but I think we need to give MS some time to get the apps rolling. It's a new ecosystem and I've no doubt it'll get rolling soon. Would LOVE to see VLC on it.. that would rock.

I understand the os is new but I love the potential. I love this device regardless of my complaints. I do miss Google though.
In regards to my battery, I think something must be wrong, I'm using quite a lot of battery even just idling

mchimney said:
I understand the os is new but I love the potential. I love this device regardless of my complaints. I do miss Google though.
In regards to my battery, I think something must be wrong, I'm using quite a lot of battery even just idling
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd take it in and have it looked at. I can usually go the whole day without issue.

mchimney said:
I understand the os is new but I love the potential. I love this device regardless of my complaints. I do miss Google though.
In regards to my battery, I think something must be wrong, I'm using quite a lot of battery even just idling
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably your wifi, email or any idling applications could have cause the huge drainage of battery
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

brandonjuraimi said:
Probably your wifi, email or any idling applications could have cause the huge drainage of battery
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know Bluettoth also kills battery on phones and on the surface it is on by default. We need one of those battery monitoring apps, especially since the Start screen doesn't report battery details - I did find the "Windows Mobility Center" in the backend/desktop, and created a link on the start screen - it provides batter percentage among other shortcuts - pretty cool.
what I do love about the Surface is all the little things that can be tweaked on the descktop - By far more customizable than any other tablet out there.

tcsekhar said:
I agree MKV does not equal HD. But the best compression today seems to be MKV files, and I have a ton of those. I don't want to convert all of them again into MP4 or any other format at this point. When all other OS supports playing it, why not MS - especially when they are late in the game, and know what the expectations are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MKV is just a container, like avi or ogg. So actual compression is x264 or as some call it mp4. There is also MP4 container which contains also x264 compressed videos, so moving files from mkv to MP4 is possible without reencoding, but just repacking.
But I agree, it is not for everyone and I'm sure mkv support will come soon through some third party app like vlc or mplayer.
This device is very new to the market and the os as well.

encho said:
MKV is just a container, like avi or ogg. So actual compression is x264 or as some call it mp4. There is also MP4 container which contains also x264 compressed videos, so moving files from mkv to MP4 is possible without reencoding, but just repacking.
But I agree, it is not for everyone and I'm sure mkv support will come soon through some third party app like vlc or mplayer.
This device is very new to the market and the os as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MKV is definitely the container of choice for HD in this day and age so any current system needs to be able to handle it if they want to sell units My whole HTPC movie library is in MKV. Having to convert to mp4 is not very practical as it requires time and steps (I use Handbrake for my Ipod touch). The latest Androids can play alomost anything thrown at them. I am sure someone will release a video player that will handle it if the surface is truly to be considered a media device. The question is will MS let it get certified in the store (Still unclear on the process and what's allowed - I would love to see a Opera or Firefox borwser too and I thought MS got sued years back for limiting options of browsers on the desktop OS). The question is how open MS will be to allow competing apps, especially if they want to sell hardware.

guitar1969 said:
MKV is definitely the container of choice for HD in this day and age so any current system needs to be able to handle it if they want to sell units My whole HTPC movie library is in MKV. Having to convert to mp4 is not very practical as it requires time and steps (I use Handbrake for my Ipod touch). The latest Androids can play alomost anything thrown at them. I am sure someone will release a video player that will handle it if the surface is truly to be considered a media device. The question is will MS let it get certified in the store (Still unclear on the process and what's allowed - I would love to see a Opera or Firefox borwser too and I thought MS got sued years back for limiting options of browsers on the desktop OS). The question is how open MS will be to allow competing apps, especially if they want to sell hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back in my Linux days I had a script which unpacks MKV like it would zip file and repacks into MP4. The whole process takes 1 minute. But as you said MKV support needs to come to RT and MS is aware of the fact that sale of their Surface tablets depends on third party apps.
So I don't think they'll have an issue with VLC or Opera or anything else. More apps equals more profit.

tcsekhar said:
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree its not very good, I hope they release an RT version of Outlook.
But you CAN multiselect, kind of swipe an email to the right a bit and a tick pops up in the corner, and then do the same for other.
At the moment, Hotmail/Outlook.com is better than the RT mail app...

Screen freezing while scrolling

Hi All, I have had three phone for the last 2 weeks. This week the phone has frozen at least 3/4 times a day while browsing. Generally happens when scrolling down, I use the Google Chrome browser. The only way to reactivate the screen is by pressing power button to turn off the screen and turning the screen back on again. I just hope it's not a hardware fault ? O just wondering if there a setting I need to change.

Chrome was having issues.
Try another browser like opera see if that changes anything

Mate, don't use Chrome. It is one of the worst browsers on Android. I recommend using the Brave browser or an older version of Firefox.

frostitomik said:
Mate, don't use Chrome. It is one of the worst browsers on Android. I recommend using the Brave browser or an older version of Firefox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your replies guys. I take it the concensus is not to use Chrome on Android phones ? Will try out Firefox for now as that seems to be a well known browser.

I was getting it loads on my XZ2 brand new X5II and gutted to still get it.
I've switched to DuckDuckGo browser now, pretty seamless so far.

Also, many websites, even the biggest ones, are poorly optimized for smartphones. Lots of ads or badly implemented scrips, lazyload etc. But most problems are usually caused by a browser.

I've had this issue too, but ironically with Brave, as frostitomik suggested to use instead of Chrome .
Quick fix for me is to use the task switcher soft key, but choose the same browser app again. It seems to unlock it.

Same here in different Apps. Never saw it on my other phones. I think it's a Sony issue.

I am using sony as well, but you could search on Google, people are experiencing the same problem on different phone models that could be dated back to 2019.
A different app is usually still using a chromium base browser, did you try firefox?
Tho, I found the freezing "app" problem would only occurred when u are browsing website with a relatively heavy load in images and videos, or a very long document.
My personal solution is simply pressing the overview button and going back to the browser.
Phoost said:
Same here in different Apps. Never saw it on my other phones. I think it's a Sony issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Use Kiwi