Just got an Acer Netbook that's got Android installed as a bios quickboot OS.
It's provided by InSyde and is truely dreadful.
- No Google Apps or Market
- Icon spacing not fixed to cope with the bigger screen, so icons are about 5 miles apart.
- Some really pants apps added in, such as a hacked firefox that's used to access webmail (i mean, the normal android browser copes perfectly well and looks a lot better) and a really poor file browser.
- doesn't look like it's instructing all apps to run in landscape.
- no decent widgets and what's there is small and also stupidly spaced.
No idea which version it's based on, but it's really unimpressive. I mean, did Acer actually pay them for it?
As it is, I've added in the poor InsydeMarket and copied some apps over from my phone. Launcher Pro makes a decent stab at giving it a decent home screen, but the wallpaper doesn't quite fit and you lose the link to launch windows. Also, apps are hanging all over the place.
Anyway, I'm sure people here could do much better. Has anyone looked at doing a decent rebuild?
I also bought this one, but I have some different thinking points with you.
- The Android is design for X86 platform and it's not easy to porting than your thinking. You can check the android-x86.org for more detail information if interesting.
- The Android Marketplace just only can use on OHA member devices such as smartphone not for tablet and netbook. You may found the Samsung Galaxy Tab is also using their own app market.
- The original android doesn't provided the "File Manager" and USB devices support. It's good for me due to I can access some files from USB storage. Of course, I can root my phone to install the third party app as file manager. But now I don't have do this and got the same function with USB support.
- What kinds of widget you need?? Something like HTC Sense?? Nothing is perfect I think. As I know, most of the widgets are developed by third party not OSV.
Do you use the other Android devices with white box? It's really bad than your thinking.
- Most of phone apps are using lower resolution for small LCD panel display, but this one is using 1024 x 600 for display. As I know, the apps should be re-art design and size for high resolution display.
It's my personal thinking for your reference.
I'm not asking the earth from a current Android on a netbook, but what has been delivered is markedly behind anything else I've seen (and I have 3 different Android phones)
As I said, Launcher Pro already improves the experience dramatically, but it would need a few tweaks to get it to work smoothly. I'm sure other alternative launchers would be able to do the same thing.
My expectations from a quick access os would be:
- switch on quickly (kind of obvious, but Android isn't that good for this)
- set to work in landscape for everything
- nice looking, useful desktop that covers the bases, i.e. clock, calendar, browser, notepad, filemanager. Widgets are good for this because it leaves things out in the open - if you need to wait for an app to open you could likely have got into windows in the same time.
- GMail, Google Maps - i mean, it is Android.
- Market, which can run on pretty much any device, but needs a profile option to restrict the options down to what works. That way you retain the reviews that have been built up. There is no point in doing a different one.
- At least a few video codecs
For your info, a good few of the apps I have loaded work fine. The browser's good, Astro runs fine, and i could go on. The apps pretty much always run full screen, so the screen size doesn't make that much difference. And, if you run web apps with your browser agent not set to Android, those work great. Indeed, I'd be tempted to strip most of this os down and just run things via a decent browser - ie dolphin.
So, going back to my original post, I'd love to see that someone was looking to improve this woeful experience. For now, I'm thinking of scrapping Android for Unity.
Sorry mods if i placed this in the wrong section but I just hope google reads this and fixes its faults. I want everyone reading this to post there issues or dislikes so we can enjoy this UI more while providing the best experience to us and other earthlings out there.
1. standby - I noticed the battery life is pretty good when it comes to playing movies,music and little bit of gaming but the standby is just horrid i know are phones are powerful as umpc but there should be a better way to lower consumption on sleep mode.
2. market - not really liking the new layout it needs to be more organized and less oversized.
3. multitasking - it's good obviously between switching to apps right away but sometimes i am left with too much baggage. I suggest there should be a setting to switch this option on/off.
4. scrolling - pretty good but still a little bit of lag now and then. would like the bounce when you hit the edge of the page.
5. UI - needs to be little bit more animated and lively.
6. brightness - the option to lower the level to the lowest.
7. websites - still has some bugs and glitches.
8. sdxc - running out of room here needs support of the extra capaity of sd cards.
9. apps - more quality apps. it seems like they just throw the free ones in the market without fully testing it for bugs. i have to scroll through dozens of unknown users with opinions that are just randomly unbiased.
10. standby again! - please fix this google!!! if i am left stranded from my car broken down or if i am vacationing to another then i'm screwed. I had a winmo phone did me good lasted more than a week on standby.....
It is not Google who builds the UI, its the phone manufacturer... Motoblur,thouchwiz,Sense etc, not google-builds.
To much baggage?, Try downloading and installing an app killer from market.
What other category is there to add to market btw?
Scrolling, I would think this is directly from your phone and not cause of Google...
again, try app killer to free up some ram.
-i7- said:
It is not Google who builds the UI, its the phone manufacturer... Motoblur,thouchwiz,Sense etc, not google-builds.
To much baggage?, Try downloading and installing an app killer from market.
What other category is there to add to market btw?
Scrolling, I would think this is directly from your phone and not cause of Google...
again, try app killer to free up some ram.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not talking about category but how the market is viewed it's all oversized block columns I prefer it to be more smaller and with more information in each block. I know there are app killers but it's better if it's official built running it would be more stabled and furthermore i hope more people will list there dislikes or changes about android and maybe google and the phone manufacturers will see this and make some fixes to there next builds. i want this thread to be seen by google from future post from xda users dislikes and hoping to change the faults....
Battery usage is my biggest complaint.
Mcds said:
5. UI - needs to be little bit more animated and lively.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean?
Live wallpapers arent animated and lively enough for you? Do you use widgets?
hungry81 said:
What do you mean?
Live wallpapers arent animated and lively enough for you? Do you use widgets?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
usually when i compare the ebay iphone app to android it's less animated it's dull coming from someone in there thirties i can get to bored easily. don't get me wrong i'm using the 2g iphone it's smooth also laggy my 1ghz android is smooth but the phone doesn't animate i guess it depends on what apps you get also...
---------- Post added at 07:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:18 AM ----------
gigem01 said:
Battery usage is my biggest complaint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the answer I am looking for from all of you, what you want to change! this deserves a thanks!
Android market has one of the worst layouts..(Both in Android as well as on Website) Despite having all the resources at disposal why they are still taking time to improve the layout?(Laziness??)
message apk should be improved
Given your initial post it sounds as though WP7 may be a better OS to suit your needs.
i dont quite understand #6
"6. brightness - the option to lower the level to the lowest."
my past 2 Android phones (G2 & currently my 4G Touch) have always been able to lower the brightness all the down.
comedy said:
i dont quite understand #6
"6. brightness - the option to lower the level to the lowest."
my past 2 Android phones (G2 & currently my 4G Touch) have always been able to lower the brightness all the down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mcds is confusing hardware with Android. Basically he'd like the lowest brightness setting on his phone to be dimmer.
You know how the lowest brightness setting on one phone can actually be brighter than a different model, just as the highest setting can be brighter on one handset compared with a different model. It's down to the hardware, not Android.
all these things can be fixed with either a new ROM new kernel or just an app download... when it comes to android, if you know wt u doing then there is nothing that cant be fixed/tweeked to ur liking... that's the power of android my friend RECOGNIZEEEEEEEEEE
Doesn't matter what app, kernel, or rom you download. After androids attempts at emulating ios and wp7s fluid UIs they've proven, the UI just isn't going to get good. To me the UI is half of the reason I buy a phone with the other half being gaming and social integration (be it Facebook or texting) perhaps a small percentage of it is battery life but with my transition to wp7 a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I realized I never wanted to dissect my phone just to increase the fps by 10, I did it because I wanted to make my mobile experience bearable. Now, I have everything I want out of the box.
Smartphones are app platforms, whatever flavour the OS is. Most of what people spend time doing on their phone, whether it be texting, gaming or emailing, is using apps. UI isn't a factor for me as i only see it for a very brief period until i launch the app i need.
If anything, it's the quality of the apps that should be compared between platforms, not the UI. Android Market could probably do with a bit more quality control, that's my own criticism really. Like for like apps on iOS are often more polished than their Android equivalent.
z33dev33l said:
Doesn't matter what app, kernel, or rom you download. After androids attempts at emulating ios and wp7s fluid UIs they've proven, the UI just isn't going to get good. To me the UI is half of the reason I buy a phone with the other half being gaming and social integration (be it Facebook or texting) perhaps a small percentage of it is battery life but with my transition to wp7 a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I realized I never wanted to dissect my phone just to increase the fps by 10, I did it because I wanted to make my mobile experience bearable. Now, I have everything I want out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, you've freely admitted that you found Android too complex, so of course the simplicity of such a basic OS as WP7 is going to appeal, lets face it, it's even less complex than iOS.
It's ideal for people who have never used a touch screen phone before, or even a mobile phone of any kind, especially if they have fat fingers, the sort of people who are not going to notice the lack of functionality but are easily impressed with visual effects.
xaccers, I still find it comical that you call me the troll but eh. I guess if that's your prerogative. I prefer my phone have decent social integration or as they put it, be "peoplecentric." as I use my phone primarily for *gasp* communication. The fact that it's also aesthetically pleasing is just a bonus, another that android does not have.
DirkGently, I agree to some extent, but I guess I feel the way I do because with WP7 the UI is uniform across the whole OS and most third party apps. I've come to appreciate the beauty in that. I do also agree that I see more quality in both the iOS and WP7 versions of apps that are on all platforms.
Let's not forget that you can't connect to ad-hoc wireless networks. I mean... c'mon...this is just lame.
Kinda not related, but i'ld like the source to be mirrored at some more reliable location xD
Getting to topic, i do like the custom overlays(tw, sense, etc..) but they take significant resources and are one of the causes behind slow updates
Wifi is the big problem for me
I have wifi issues with Archos 70 (Android 2.1 to 2.3, rooted), and Arcer Iconia (Honeycomb 3.2 rooted). Android seems does not like my working wifi and stay in obtaining ip most of the time.
And, I plan to listen some online radio (Domi, Douban for say), once the tablet goes to idle mode, wifi disconnected, make it useless. I tried to set wifi disconnect policy, tried wifi alive, wifi lock, wifi buddy and maybe most wifi related apps in the market, none work.
While iTouch works fine for above 2 scenarios.
Battery life and more quality apps. Seriously, has anyone else noticed that Android apps feel kinda rushed and low quality. Especially if that company/app is on iOS. I always felt that the iOS counterparts seem a lot better and that more time and effort is put into them.
Also, improvement on multitasking. I don't really like the little recent app window crap. Something along the lines of WebOS's multitasking screen would be a really nice addition. Also, notifications should be a little more organized. Apple did a good job with this on their notification dropdown ripoff..
-i7- said:
It is not Google who builds the UI, its the phone manufacturer... Motoblur,thouchwiz,Sense etc, not google-builds.
To much baggage?, Try downloading and installing an app killer from market.
What other category is there to add to market btw?
Scrolling, I would think this is directly from your phone and not cause of Google...
again, try app killer to free up some ram.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By UI he probably means Android's base UI, Stock Android. You have to admit, it is pretty meh. Downloading a app killer/task manager is a bad idea. That bogs down Android more than background apps do.
So let me preface by saying Ive gone from iPhone to Android and have been watching WP since launch and plan on it being my next OS after I can get a hold of an off contract Verizon phone relatively cheaply or when my upgrade is up. I love how fluid it seems with its native apps and I want to get away from my buggy and laggy/stuttering Droid X (Which is the same for everyone I know with one).
But there's some things that you really don't take into account when you don't actually use the device everyday, so I figured Id ask here and see how WP stacks up.
What I am looking for info on:
-I use Android's file system to store non-market/root APK's to reinstall apps after wiping/updating the phone and such. I would like to unlock my WP for things like screenshot utilities; how does that whole scene work in a quick summary? I know about Chevron, but how are these apps distributed, updated etc.?
-How are non-native apps with scrolling smoothness these days in Mango? I cant stand the lag and stuttering in Android.
-Can you download from IE to the file system with homebrew? How about natively?
-How does Skydrive work for installers/loading installers, PDF's and other non-Office files? Can you browse it like a filesystem, as I currently use it as a Network Drive on my PC anyways.
-Does the universal volume setup become an issue? I use my phone as my PMP with headphones all the time, then I need it to be on vibrate for class and in general, also alarms randomly, and occasionally I play games with the media on. Will I be missing alarms or leaving the ringer on in class if I don't pay close attention or is it mainly just when going headphones to media? I dont quite understand how it works specifically.
-Quick ways to toggle WiFi and screen brightness with homebrew?
-Back up options for app settings and things if a wipe happens?
-Do you find yourself ever getting annoyed with the animations or the app list for less used apps that still get accessed once in a while?
-How bad is board reader for browsing forums or the free reddit apps? They dont have great ratings.
-Am I going to be panning a lot in IE without text reflow? I usually browse/do everything in portrait and dont like landscape much FYI.
Anything you really miss about Android or iOS?
I only know of TouchXplorer for HTC for file management but im sure there are others for the other brands. Not sure how you would go about storing files for re installation. Dont think anyone has figured out how to invoke the xap installer from files on the phone. Most of these apps are found here on XDA
Most apps are pretty smooth. Depends on the dev. Id say they are all smoother than android though.
Dont think you can download to the file system from IE
You can access Skydrive from the office hub. You can open media files and pdfs etc. Once again not sure about install files.
I havent had a problem with the volume. I use my phone for media and games. I just put it on vibrate when i need to which is easy to do on the lock screen.
Cant toggle from the homescreen yet, there are apps that are shortcuts to the setting though
There is a homebrew backup program here on XDA somewhere
I dont get annoyed by the animations. They make for a nice experience
The XDA app is a version of board express i believe and its not too bad. I Haven't tried any of the Reddit apps
There is a bit of panning. I find its just easier to find a good zoom level that you can read it on
Hope i helped
Mike415 said:
What I am looking for info on:
-I use Android's file system to store non-market/root APK's to reinstall apps after wiping/updating the phone and such. I would like to unlock my WP for things like screenshot utilities; how does that whole scene work in a quick summary? I know about Chevron, but how are these apps distributed, updated etc.?
I've never used TouchXplorer, so I don't even know if it is compatible with Mango, but if it is it would be the only file explorer option I know of. WP is not designed as an open system, so file explorers are not officially supported.
-How are non-native apps with scrolling smoothness these days in Mango? I cant stand the lag and stuttering in Android.
I have around 175 third party apps installed on my phone, and at least half of them exhibit enough lag/stutter that it is noticeable, and some are quite annoying, even some of the major apps (such as Accuweather.com and USA Today). Generally, it seems that if an app is fetching data from the internet while it is also rendering to the display, you will probably notice some lag/stutter. I've never owned an Android, but from the videos I've seen on YouTube and also from what I've observed watching my son use his Samsung Captivate, the lag (at least in third party apps) is comparable.
-Can you download from IE to the file system with homebrew? How about natively?
All apps are sandboxed on WP, so downloading to "the filesystem" is not supported.
-How does Skydrive work for installers/loading installers, PDF's and other non-Office files? Can you browse it like a filesystem, as I currently use it as a Network Drive on my PC anyways.
Again, I don't know about homebrew, but generally speaking SkyDrive only supports photos and Office documents from your phone.
-Does the universal volume setup become an issue? I use my phone as my PMP with headphones all the time, then I need it to be on vibrate for class and in general, also alarms randomly, and occasionally I play games with the media on. Will I be missing alarms or leaving the ringer on in class if I don't pay close attention or is it mainly just when going headphones to media? I dont quite understand how it works specifically.
This one is a bit tricky. As far as missing alarms due to turning the ringer on or off, that is probably not likely. Turning vibrate-only mode on or off is remarkably simple on WP. Just wake up the phone, press either volume control, and then tap the ringer icon to toggle it on or off.
However, that is the good news. The bad news is that the universal volume means that having the volume high enough to be able to hear the phone ring from your pocket also means that any app, game or media will also blast out of the phone at annoyingly loud levels. And conversely, if you turn the volume down far enough to play a game or listen to music at a comfortable level, but forget to turn it back up when you are done, you will miss calls, guaranteed. It has happened to me more times than I care to count.
-Quick ways to toggle WiFi and screen brightness with homebrew?
Quick setting toggles are not supported. You can, however, get a reasonably adequate shortcuts to the four main toggles (WiFI, 3G, Airplane mode, and Bluetooth) on your start screen. The unfortunate annoyance is that, depending on how you lay out your start screen, you may have a few button presses/scroll swipes necessary to complete the toggle of a setting). As for brightness, there is no toggle support for that.
-Back up options for app settings and things if a wipe happens?
There is no support for backup of app settings, game saves or SMS messages, period. None at all. You can (using a homebrew app) perform a complete device backup, but it cannot be transferred to another device.
-Do you find yourself ever getting annoyed with the animations or the app list for less used apps that still get accessed once in a while?
Do the animations annoy me? Yes. Contrary to the apparently popular opinion here, I find much of the animation on the start screen to be gimmicky (the people hub, game hub, and "me" hub icons especially so). And many third party apps flip their icons for no reason at all, just for the sake of flipping it. For example Flixster flips the tile between a static photo of a currently-playing movie on one side (with the program icon in the corner), and the program icon filling the tile on the other side. It serves no purpose.
With that said, SOME of the app tiles are VERY useful, such as most weather apps, which usually flip between current conditions and forecast conditions. Being a weather junky, I love that feature.
Regarding the app list, it is more than just an annoyance, it is a major frustration for me, every single day. With no app grouping capabilities at all (I wouldn't care HOW it was implemented, I just want SOMETHING implemented), finding apps in a long list can be a real chore. I don't like it at all. If you only ever plan to have 20 or 30 apps, it might be OK. But if you need more than that, the number of taps and flicks and swipes needed to find and launch an app can be time-consuming.
-How bad is board reader for browsing forums or the free reddit apps? They dont have great ratings.
I've only used the trial version of Board Express, and didn't like it at all. Most of the reports from people here are that it is painfully bad to use.
-Am I going to be panning a lot in IE without text reflow? I usually browse/do everything in portrait and dont like landscape much FYI.
That depends entirely on the layout of the web sites you visit. On some sites, the tap-to-zoom works very well, and makes the text fill the screen (without reflow, of course) at a nominally readable size. But on other sites, it just doesn't help at all, and I end up panning quite a bit.
Anything you really miss about Android or iOS?
I've never owned either, so I can't say. However, unless things change I will most likely be moving to an iPhone within a couple of months. WP has a LOT going for it, but unfortunately (for me) it still has too many gaps in its features, and some of them are too annoying to just live with them and wait patiently on Microsoft.
I hope the features that I need do get added in future updates, because I'd be happy to switch back. But after reading the snarky attitude of many of the fans here, I can't help but wonder if that same attitude isn't prevalent at Microsoft, which would kind of imply that those features won't be coming any time soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My answers are in blue.
To be honest, from your questions, I would say you would be better off staying with android, don't get me wrong, i love wp7 and it does everthing i need it to do, but you may find some of the stuff you want is not available and get frustrated.
I just switched and am very happy! After two years on android, wp7 feels so smooth and coherent
IMHO, go to a store or carrier centre and request a WP7 and play with it, as from what I believe, everyone has their own preferences.
My advise would be to stay away if you're a tweaker, which is sounds like you are.
pillsburydoughman said:
My advise would be to stay away if you're a tweaker, which is sounds like you are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was though, but sometimes you get sick of constantly flashing roms, chaning things around, and want something that just works.
I'm happy that now it seems as if I have much more time since I'm not constantly fiddling with my phone 24/7.
I guess that is dependent on the person themselves though
What I am looking for info on:
-I use Android's file system to store non-market/root APK's to reinstall apps after wiping/updating the phone and such. I would like to unlock my WP for things like screenshot utilities; how does that whole scene work in a quick summary? I know about Chevron, but how are these apps distributed, updated etc.?
*No, you will be stuck at your pc for deploying XAPs. However Dotcomp says there is a way to deploy XAPs from IE.
MS security is a complete joke, you can just download the XAPs from MS.
-How are non-native apps with scrolling smoothness these days in Mango? I cant stand the lag and stuttering in Android.
* Well get used to it, its the exact same on WP7. However there aren't many apps with long scroll list, most take advantage of Metro.
-Can you download from IE to the file system with homebrew? How about natively?
*NO, and no
-How does Skydrive work for installers/loading installers, PDF's and other non-Office files? Can you browse it like a filesystem, as I currently use it as a Network Drive on my PC anyways.
*Skydrive was a afterthought on this OS, my opinion. Works great for Office documents, OneNote, and pics. That's it.
-Does the universal volume setup become an issue? I use my phone as my PMP with headphones all the time, then I need it to be on vibrate for class and in general, also alarms randomly, and occasionally I play games with the media on. Will I be missing alarms or leaving the ringer on in class if I don't pay close attention or is it mainly just when going headphones to media? I dont quite understand how it works specifically.
* Depends on you. I'm used to multiple volume settings, so its a pain to me.
-Quick ways to toggle WiFi and screen brightness with homebrew?
* If you can call a wifi icon on homesreen quick, then yes, other than that NO.
-Back up options for app settings and things if a wipe happens?
*If on the go, NO. If at your PC, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19341502#post19341502
-Do you find yourself ever getting annoyed with the animations or the app list for less used apps that still get accessed once in a while?
* Actually the animations are what make this phone. They're pretty quick and elegant. I like the live tiles, but they ruin the glance and go concept, because I have to wait on it to flip.
The app list is horrid.
-How bad is board reader for browsing forums or the free reddit apps? They dont have great ratings.
*Board Express made by Tapatalk, is nothing like Tapatalk on Android or IOS. It is like a sick joke. The browser is faster on WP.
-Am I going to be panning a lot in IE without text reflow? I usually browse/do everything in portrait and dont like landscape much FYI.
* Double tap usually makes the text readable, but if the site has text and pictures you want to see, you're SOL.
Also if you like to read comments, or deal with a HTML5 website, you will find yourself having to load the full website a lot. I can't even get the smartphone version of mobile sites, IE9 doesn't render some correctly.
Anything you really miss about Android or iOS?
YES! GOOGLE APPS! GAMES!
Youtube on Android is the greatest, Lazytube comes close but you have to pay for it.
Im used to sitting on my couch and flinging websites and videos from my phone to the TV(google tv), impossible on WP7.
Custom SMS, ringtones, and email notifications. You can do custom ringtones but its a hassle.
I can say I like the Email on WP7, however its not instant like on IOS or Android.
Oh, there is no auto update option. If there is a app that needs updating you have to open the market and tell it to update.
---
All of that being sad, you could still be Happy using WP7. It just totally depends on what you use your phone for.
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my lady took over the vibrant, lol.
-------------
Another thing, some people say they get tired of flashing custom roms on Android. The exact same OPTION is avaliable on WP7. You don't HAVE to flash either.
there are no custom roms for my phone...
I was continually trying to get my phone smoother, and smoother on android.
I just don't feel the need to with this. Once again, just my own two cents. I never said that it would be the same for everyone
Thanks for the replies so far. It helped me get a better feeling for WP and it seems like I should really just wait for all the new OS updates like Ice Cream and iOS 5.x+/iPhone 5 before diving into WP. I am a slight tweaker of Android, but I don't actually want to do that very much anymore. I just want a phone that works and suits my needs. Android suits my needs, but doesn't really work great and it annoys me.
WP seems like it would be okay for me. Im not an app whore anymore since Ive been a smartphone user for several years now and I pretty much just like to be able to get the news, read some forums, text a lot, use yelp to find places to eat, and occasionally pass some time on leisure games. Android is pretty weak as far as finding decent games IMO and I think WP could actually be better in that regard (iPhone is the only one I would consider good for leisure games, but if Ive gotten by on Android this long I think WP could be okay, especially since I still would have an iPhone and Droid for those games). Right now, using Launcher 7 on Android I only use 2.5 screens of tiles so Im not going to have too much of an issue with the app list I think (Homebrew folders support will do me fine in that regard as I can toss all the leisure games in there also).
What I am still unclear on is viewing PDFs that are hosted on websites because its a situation that I run into frequently enough that I need it to be able to view PDFs from sites or Skydrive (Either one). Can I navigate with IE to a site with a link to a hosted PDF and view it or not?
Can I leave my phone on vibrate (no ring) and still play headphones without turning the ring back on in doing so? This would be a huge issue if not because I can't be having my phone go off in class all the time. I rarely take my phone off vibrate, so I want to make sure I can leave silent/vibrate on and still play Zune without turning the ringer back on.
Does vibrate mean that alarms only vibrate and dont sound? ie. do I need to take my phone off silent ringer/vibrate all night if I want to hear an alarm in the morning?
--
I like how well Microsoft has seemingly written WP and I think eventually it will be great after Win8 and WP8. Maybe I just need to hold off for those phones and not waste money getting an off contract phone. If Win8+WP8+XBOX+Live services doesnt bring very tight integration and some nice new features, I think I'll lose all the faith Ive put into Microsoft the past 15 years.
Mike415 said:
Can I leave my phone on vibrate (no ring) and still play headphones without turning the ring back on in doing so? This would be a huge issue if not because I can't be having my phone go off in class all the time. I rarely take my phone off vibrate, so I want to make sure I can leave silent/vibrate on and still play Zune without turning the ringer back on.
Does vibrate mean that alarms only vibrate and dont sound? ie. do I need to take my phone off silent ringer/vibrate all night if I want to hear an alarm in the morning?
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Click to collapse
With Mango both of these issues are addressed. You can put your ringer on vibrate and still listen to music, and even adjust the volume without affecting the "vibrate only" setting. However, when you turn the ringer back on, it will be on at the current volume setting, not what it was before.
Also, you can have the ringer on vibrate and still hear alarms. In fact, alarms are now treated as "special" by the OS, and they ignore both the volume and ringer (vibrate) settings. They start low, and get progressively louder until dismissed.
Mike415 said:
I like how well Microsoft has seemingly written WP and I think eventually it will be great after Win8 and WP8. Maybe I just need to hold off for those phones and not waste money getting an off contract phone. If Win8+WP8+XBOX+Live services doesnt bring very tight integration and some nice new features, I think I'll lose all the faith Ive put into Microsoft the past 15 years.
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WP will eventually be fantastic, and the ecosystem will mature. But I have to be honest and say that for me it isn't there yet, and it is unclear how long it will take to get there. If your only option right now is to go off contract to get a WP device, I would have to suggest that you wait at least until Apollo is released (which, by all credible accounts will be Q4 of next year).
My reason for saying this is because each time Microsoft does fix a problem, they do an admirable job. But they need to (IMO) be more aggressive with their release schedule. Following the "one small release mid year and one major release annually" model isn't enough. There should be smaller patch releases to address issues, rather than making people suffer with them for 6+ months.
Mike415 said:
Thanks for the replies so far. It helped me get a better feeling for WP and it seems like I should really just wait for all the new OS updates like Ice Cream and iOS 5.x+/iPhone 5 before diving into WP. I am a slight tweaker of Android, but I don't actually want to do that very much anymore. I just want a phone that works and suits my needs. Android suits my needs, but doesn't really work great and it annoys me.
WP seems like it would be okay for me. Im not an app whore anymore since Ive been a smartphone user for several years now and I pretty much just like to be able to get the news, read some forums, text a lot, use yelp to find places to eat, and occasionally pass some time on leisure games. Android is pretty weak as far as finding decent games IMO and I think WP could actually be better in that regard (iPhone is the only one I would consider good for leisure games, but if Ive gotten by on Android this long I think WP could be okay, especially since I still would have an iPhone and Droid for those games). Right now, using Launcher 7 on Android I only use 2.5 screens of tiles so Im not going to have too much of an issue with the app list I think (Homebrew folders support will do me fine in that regard as I can toss all the leisure games in there also).
What I am still unclear on is viewing PDFs that are hosted on websites because its a situation that I run into frequently enough that I need it to be able to view PDFs from sites or Skydrive (Either one). Can I navigate with IE to a site with a link to a hosted PDF and view it or not?
Can I leave my phone on vibrate (no ring) and still play headphones without turning the ring back on in doing so? This would be a huge issue if not because I can't be having my phone go off in class all the time. I rarely take my phone off vibrate, so I want to make sure I can leave silent/vibrate on and still play Zune without turning the ringer back on.
Does vibrate mean that alarms only vibrate and dont sound? ie. do I need to take my phone off silent ringer/vibrate all night if I want to hear an alarm in the morning?
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I like how well Microsoft has seemingly written WP and I think eventually it will be great after Win8 and WP8. Maybe I just need to hold off for those phones and not waste money getting an off contract phone. If Win8+WP8+XBOX+Live services doesnt bring very tight integration and some nice new features, I think I'll lose all the faith Ive put into Microsoft the past 15 years.
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Hi Mike,
Like you I mapped Skydrive as a network drive and simply drag/drop my pdf files there. PDFs are natively supported on wp7 once you download the official adobe pdf app.
The PDFs will show up on skydrive in the Office Hub. Infact if you use the Documents folder as the "root" of all your files and simple create folders within there, they will all show up in the office hub's skydrive folder. As you see I have a "PDF" folder with all my pdfs. You download them when you select it and it is saved to adobe's app storage locally on the phone.
Skydrive on the phone will also stream audio and video files! Sometimes my friends would share a video or some music with me and I'd be able to access it natively!
You can view any pdf or office document (provided it is in later version format i thnk office 2007 up) hosted on websites. It will download and open in adobe/office.
Also OneNote is absoulely terrific in the Office hub for syncing notes to the PC/web and phone. I use it extensively to manage my classes!
Hope this helped.
Mike415 said:
What I am still unclear on is viewing PDFs that are hosted on websites because its a situation that I run into frequently enough that I need it to be able to view PDFs from sites or Skydrive (Either one). Can I navigate with IE to a site with a link to a hosted PDF and view it or not?
Can I leave my phone on vibrate (no ring) and still play headphones without turning the ring back on in doing so? This would be a huge issue if not because I can't be having my phone go off in class all the time. I rarely take my phone off vibrate, so I want to make sure I can leave silent/vibrate on and still play Zune without turning the ringer back on.
Does vibrate mean that alarms only vibrate and dont sound? ie. do I need to take my phone off silent ringer/vibrate all night if I want to hear an alarm in the morning?
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PDF's are just working fine. Just install Adobe's PDF app and IE will automatically hook them and forward them to the app. Same on SkyDrive, you can even zip those PDF's as WP is able to look into zips.
As for the sound it should work the way you described. Volume control is for everything on the device but the button for vibration is only for the ringer. So if you mute your device via volume rocker then everything will be muted. If you only press the vibrate button then only the ringer will be silenced.
Awesome, guys. Great replies. The volume issues and PDF issues seem like they would be fine for situations like mine. Loved the screenshots!
Really I dont see too many issues not to switch over eventually, as the replies here have quelled my main doubts. As more apps come and current apps are optimized theres very little reason to not switch for most people. Its just that damn app list!
Good thing there's homebrew folders now though!
Mike415 said:
Awesome, guys. Great replies. The volume issues and PDF issues seem like they would be fine for situations like mine. Loved the screenshots!
Really I dont see too many issues not to switch over eventually, as the replies here have quelled my main doubts. As more apps come and current apps are optimized theres very little reason to not switch for most people. Its just that damn app list!
Good thing there's homebrew folders now though!
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thankfully the games go into your xbox live folder though...
also you can tap a letter to quickly bring up all letters where you can quickscroll from letter to letter to find apps you have.
scoobysnacks said:
thankfully the games go into your xbox live folder though...
also you can tap a letter to quickly bring up all letters where you can quickscroll from letter to letter to find apps you have.
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and search too. I actually prefer the app list to iOS pages of icons. The applist I know exactly where to find it alphabectically using the jumplist. Need twitter? Tap a letter jump to T and its in that group. iOS its a "which page is it?' scenario.
The homebrew folders is also pretty nice. I use it for all my "News" apps and "Social" app but it doesnt have live tiles so it defeats the wp7 purpose of glance and go
scoobysnacks said:
thankfully the games go into your xbox live folder though...
also you can tap a letter to quickly bring up all letters where you can quickscroll from letter to letter to find apps you have.
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Click to collapse
sayonical said:
and search too. I actually prefer the app list to iOS pages of icons. The applist I know exactly where to find it alphabectically using the jumplist. Need twitter? Tap a letter jump to T and its in that group. iOS its a "which page is it?' scenario.
The homebrew folders is also pretty nice. I use it for all my "News" apps and "Social" app but it doesnt have live tiles so it defeats the wp7 purpose of glance and go
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I was just planning on throwing all my leisure games (non-XBOX LIVE) in folders. Does the XBOX Live hub hold non-Live games too? I wouldn't really need folders if all my games were in the XBOX hub, but I was thinking that it was only for Live games.
Mike415 said:
I was just planning on throwing all my leisure games (non-XBOX LIVE) in folders. Does the XBOX Live hub hold non-Live games too? I wouldn't really need folders if all my games were in the XBOX hub, but I was thinking that it was only for Live games.
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the live hub holds all games!
It's a good thing too, I have a ton of games
scoobysnacks said:
the live hub holds all games!
It's a good thing too, I have a ton of games
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The only drawback of the xbox live hub is that is missing the jump list. I'd really love to see it in there too.
On topic:
I'd really recommend you go into a mobile shop and try different devices. I for one came from Window Mobile 6.1 over 6.5 and Android (2.1 and 2.2) all the way to Windows Phone. First I was missing several things I know from my former mobile OSes. But once I got used to the limitations (which were a lot more before NoDo and Mango), I've never ever looked back. I'm a proud WP7 user. But it really depends on what you use your device for.
Hi all, I'm sorry if this is not the correct place to post this. But I hope the Mods will replace it where appropriate.
I just was wondering if there is a way to stop that annoying reloading of web pages when I push the browser to background process in my old Android 4.0.3 device. It so consumed data. Is there any way to keep the pages in memory or something?
Thanks
Hi,
As far as I know, it's because of Android cleaning unused programs from memory (RAM) when it's getting full, and on lower specs phones it happens pretty quickly, although I don't have accurate numbers here.
It's a core feature of Android, so I'm not sure there is a way to bypass, limit it or whitelist programs, perhaps on rooted phones, but I'm eager to know if it's possible.
But, is it the same on newer devices? I hope not, cos it's so lame.
So that's it... I just can't do anything unless I root. Hmmm...
Thanks for your comment though.
I can't answer for sure, but on all my devices it's the same problem, even under KitKat.
I suppose my RAM isn't enough, but someone would have to confirm if the problem still exists on high end devices like S4 or G2.
I don't know what you'll get here by rooting your device, cause all of mine are rooted but sometimes I still get the problem.
Well at least you can delete some bloatware so it's never a bad idea if you feel confident rooting the phone.
For repro, I usually do this, between each step, just press the Home button to return to the home screen :
- Launch a heavy game such as Dead Trigger 2 or Real Racing 3, or even a smaller one like Subway Surfers
- Launch Chrome, open something simple like Google News for mobiles
- Open the camera, no need to take a pic but just open it and go back to home straightaway
- Open Gmail, or another mail app
- Open Play Store
- Try to go back to your game (or browser)... on all of my devices I lose my current level, as it's as I've force quitted... yeah that sucks for low end or old devices like mines, but I don't think there is a workaround.
Just to say, on my iPod Touch 3 I get a better experience for games, although I have to go through reloading on Safari tabs.