with Nexus 5 & new to Android Ecosystem, need suggestion - Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

With a heavy heart i have to keep my SEx1 aside and have entered to Android Ecosystem.
I'm a customized freak & made my X1 ROM super stable with my super minimalistic custom rom's, im still going to use that as my primary portable music gear, but for rest of the things Google Nexus 5 is the new companion.
Kitkat is whole new world for me, used gingerbread a a little bit but both are poles apart. hence need some suggestion to keep myself educated with latest trends and tech. Please ignore my noobe-tagged question. So here i start:
No Lollipop ? ?
As broadcasted nexus devices should be the first one to get Android 5.0, Lollipop.
Im yet to get any update & currently running 4.4.4. Any words on when could i expect Lollipop upgrade in my device.
[I don't want to root/ flash until my device is out of warranty].
Contact Backup & Google sync:
a) When starting the device for first time, it prompted me to use google account credential, i did, and it dumped all thousands of my gmail contact in phonebook. Too bad. i have manually deleted all of them from phonebook. and switched-off auto sync.
b) it refused to sync my contact form X1, which was back uped in outlook under win7. Found an alternative, transfered all my contact via bluetooth to nexus 5 and imported them one-by-one. Again when importing in batches, it gives error, which is kind of helpful for me. I only imported selected contact and not the obsolete 8 yrs old contacts
Now the question: How my Sync my contacts without downloading email-contact from gmail. Another gmail account doesn't seems to be ideal as i use email, calendar, drive from this mail. Please suggest.
Customization:
a) I like to keep my phone at minimals. used mycolorscreen- Themer for few days, which let me customize to what i want till great extent. but its getting corrupt by it own at random times, spoiling my widgets location & functionalities and sometime replacing wallpaper with "black" and have uninstalled it now.
Do we have anything similar to HTC / touchflow full screen animated weather for android? roa any alternative to themer which let me customize N5?
b) Lockscreen customization like changing the background according to themer wallpaper and add few information like battery level, weather, etc. I goggled DashClock please let me know what you guys think about it or any other recommendation.
Few App recommendation
Fitness tracker : currently using Pedometer by j4velin, which is good, but it doesn't give me much control, no difference in distance covered if you running or walking, no actual track of distance covered as it derived from the stride length we enter in the setting. Any recommendation in this please ? should i try Google fit app ?
Pulse Light Controller N5 seriously missing "things" in this department, apart from default white glow of unleaded sms, i never noticed any other indication. they should have provided a notification for low-battery and missed call. Currently using Light Flow but i hate its presence always in my notification area. what's XDA's thoughts in this please? I dont need anything with bells and whistles, just a minimal app which show me red light when my battery is low & some other-then-white-color from unreaded SMS & missed calls.
Vibrate on call connect Got ExDailer but im clueless how to make it the default dialer. Also i liked the stock dialer is there any way to make it vibrate when a call connects, i have to install 3rd party app on my phone
Cache cleaner
as im playing installing, uninstalling lots of stuffs these in these experimenal days what would be a recommended app for this, if its mandatory. have used this bloatware Clean Master in my X10i earlier which killed the phone in multiple ways. any other recommendation please, i just want to clean junk files and do not want any antivirus and gold plating.
Thanks in advance.

- bump -

netant said:
No Lollipop ? ?
As broadcasted nexus devices should be the first one to get Android 5.0, Lollipop.
Im yet to get any update & currently running 4.4.4. Any words on when could i expect Lollipop upgrade in my device.
[I don't want to root/ flash until my device is out of warranty].
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTAs are a rollout. They don't give it to everyone at the same time.
You can sideload the OTA instead of waiting, and you don't have to unlock the bootloader for that.
There is also no point in "keeping warranty" since the only way to tell is if you have bootloader unlocked/or tamper flag is left triggered. Bootloader is easily re-locked and the tamper flag isn't that big of a deal to reset unlike on many other devices (you can do it with apps lol..). There is no other way to tell unless you blatantly have modified software. Of course, if the device was defective to the point where it doesn't boot up, then the bootloader/tamper flag/any sort of software doesn't even matter anyways. Also, if you bought from the Play Store, Google will even let you send it in with a custom ROM and kernel if you wanted to.
netant said:
Contact Backup & Google sync:
a) When starting the device for first time, it prompted me to use google account credential, i did, and it dumped all thousands of my gmail contact in phonebook. Too bad. i have manually deleted all of them from phonebook. and switched-off auto sync.
b) it refused to sync my contact form X1, which was back uped in outlook under win7. Found an alternative, transfered all my contact via bluetooth to nexus 5 and imported them one-by-one. Again when importing in batches, it gives error, which is kind of helpful for me. I only imported selected contact and not the obsolete 8 yrs old contacts
Now the question: How my Sync my contacts without downloading email-contact from gmail. Another gmail account doesn't seems to be ideal as i use email, calendar, drive from this mail. Please suggest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mass delete your obsolete contacts from gmail: https://www.google.com/contacts/ then sync them afterwards.
netant said:
Customization:
a) I like to keep my phone at minimals. used mycolorscreen- Themer for few days, which let me customize to what i want till great extent. but its getting corrupt by it own at random times, spoiling my widgets location & functionalities and sometime replacing wallpaper with "black" and have uninstalled it now.
Do we have anything similar to HTC / touchflow full screen animated weather for android? roa any alternative to themer which let me customize N5?
b) Lockscreen customization like changing the background according to themer wallpaper and add few information like battery level, weather, etc. I goggled DashClock please let me know what you guys think about it or any other recommendation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just look at the Themes and Apps section, there is also a stickied homescreen thread.
netant said:
Few App recommendation
Fitness tracker : currently using Pedometer by j4velin, which is good, but it doesn't give me much control, no difference in distance covered if you running or walking, no actual track of distance covered as it derived from the stride length we enter in the setting. Any recommendation in this please ? should i try Google fit app ?
Pulse Light Controller N5 seriously missing "things" in this department, apart from default white glow of unleaded sms, i never noticed any other indication. they should have provided a notification for low-battery and missed call. Currently using Light Flow but i hate its presence always in my notification area. what's XDA's thoughts in this please? I dont need anything with bells and whistles, just a minimal app which show me red light when my battery is low & some other-then-white-color from unreaded SMS & missed calls.
Vibrate on call connect Got ExDailer but im clueless how to make it the default dialer. Also i liked the stock dialer is there any way to make it vibrate when a call connects, i have to install 3rd party app on my phone
Cache cleaner
as im playing installing, uninstalling lots of stuffs these in these experimenal days what would be a recommended app for this, if its mandatory. have used this bloatware Clean Master in my X10i earlier which killed the phone in multiple ways. any other recommendation please, i just want to clean junk files and do not want any antivirus and gold plating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use fitness trackers so I can't say anything about them. The Nexus 5 has a hardware pedometer rather than using sensors like accelerometer/gps/etc to determine steps, which saves a LOT of battery but obviously can't determine distance.
There are a multilude of LED apps.
Cache cleaners are useless since you can wipe cache in recovery anyways, including stock recovery. If you mean for cleaning in general, I don't use anything myself as I don't find it any necessary, but some others do.

netant said:
hence need some suggestion to keep myself educated with latest trends and tech.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are far as this is concerned, there really isn't any big thing with the Nexus 5 that would not be applicable to other phones. Just read around the forums to see if anything piques your interest.

Thanks for the reply.
I will wait some more time for official OTA update, in the meantime exploring the device. once i done i will do a factory reset anyways
contact things is easier to manage in Gmail interface, thanks for pointing out. Took hours to clean all the contact, but feel good after housecleaning

Related

Asurion Mobile AddressBook for Android

Hello XDA,
I am one of the developers of the Asurion Mobile AddressBook and I would like to get some feedback on our product from the users here. I have been using this forum for some thine now for Winmo and respect the opinions of the developers here. It would be great to see what everyone thinks of the application. It is available in the Android Marketplace, just search Asurion. Or you can go to our site at http://www.getaddressbook.com/.
A little about AddressBook, it is a socially connected address book that allows you to get information about your contacts from different social sites like Facebook and Twitter right in the address book, through mini programs called Mixins.
Soon we will have an APK for developers to develop their own Mixins for AddressBook. When its ready I will post more information if anyone would like to beta for us.
AddressBook is still in a beta form and is available for 1.6 and 2.0 and above. Please try it out and let me know what you think. AddressBook is new and we are open to positive and negative feedback.
Thanks,
Peter
Just installed
Main app + all MixIn
It's a nice app, just a bit slow on my HTC Sapphire Magic Vodafone 32B with 2.1 Eclair Rom
I don't like "MixIn solution", why not a full app with all modules inside ?
I've launched main app, then I gone to market and installed Facebook MixIn for first.
After a lot of privacy authorization with some screen not well fitted I did a little war with Matching People, cause a lot of them were not matched nice.
I need Photos compare, cause I've some cases with two or more people with the exact name... like my cousins =)
I had some Facebook MixIn Force close Crashes and some com.google.process.gapps crashes too, right now...
I installed flickr and associate it with some of my contacts and no problems at all.
at last I tried Twitter and no probs with it...
I think it's a good app, but a bit slow...
last thing:
Support for all languages (I could translate it in Italian if you need)
I don't like number in this format 000-000-0000
or 00-000-0000
I know it's a developing app and I will wait for next releases of this.
Well Done
Good Job
This is some great feedback, thanks for taking the time to try it out and post back.
Just wondering
Is this ultimately going to be a paid application?
You know like:
5.99/mo
4.79/mo
1.99/mo
What's our deductible? :0
Haven't tried the app, but if you could spread the QR codes apart it will ease their reading.
Thanks for your app!
played with it 30mins.
1. got the main app
2. started a new a/c in www.getaddressbook.com
3. got the MixIn: Facebook
4. start the MixIn app, input Facebook a/c
5. click Allow buttons 3 times
6. MixIn starts to get contacts from FB
7. Auto Match
8. Manual adjust Auto Match results
9. Launch main app
The above steps took about 25mins (330 FB contacts; 300 gmail contacts; Auto Matched 180; manual picked out... haven't counted >_< i believe picked out 30 - 50).
Cool:
-Auto Match tried to best match FB | Local contacts even they are not perfect match.
e.g. Shirley Lam | Salei Lam (it matches)
-Facebook photos can replace local as well as sync. to Gmail Contacts
-Consolidated activities log (SMS, voice call, etc) for individual contact
Not:
-[MixIn: FB] Say you have some contacts named Peter Chan, you will get confused without some other hints like Organization.
I picked those contacts out in Auto Match to prevent mis-matching as Org is not displayed in Auto Match results
-[main app] Contact list won't remember the last viewed location.
I scrolled from top to Carol, click twice to view details, click Return and the contact list scrolls back to top.
-[main app] Slow. Maybe it's my outdated HTC Magic... (it's CyanogenMod 4.2.13 w/ EBI1 mod]
For me:
Keep and waiting for updates!
looks cool..will try this later when i get home for work..
speed is defiantely something that can be worked on.
thebluecoat said:
Is this ultimately going to be a paid application?
You know like:
5.99/mo
4.79/mo
1.99/mo
What's our deductible? :0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the application will be free. And no deductible that I know of
It looks interesting but what you should definitely not miss is the T9 dialer. The way you can find contact by typing their name directly from the dialer is the only feature that makes me stay on 1.5. I tried other apps from the Market but nothing could match HTC's Sense UI dialer. If you can bring something clean similar to this I'm sold!
Another question for the community. Are there any features you are not seeing in the AddressBook that you would like to see, things that would make this app a must have?
Great work on the app. After using the app for a few days the main reason I stopped us using it was the user interface. Its not horrible but compared to everything else on the phone, it looks a bit outdated (quality wise). Other then the ui, it can be sluggish at times but nice work.
DesertWolf1971 said:
Another question for the community. Are there any features you are not seeing in the AddressBook that you would like to see, things that would make this app a must have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Darvo is absolutely correct. The T9 dialer is something that is sorely missing from most builds. I think it would especially appeal to stock users as well as those running cooked roms. I have been searching for a reliable answer to this outside of a Sense UI but haven't found anything that I'll stand by 100%.
Thank you .........
I appreciate your effort with AddressBook; however:
I find it extremely inappropriate and invasive that the app immediately syncs my contacts upon install to -- where? your servers?
There should be a clear warning that this is about to happen!
Please delete my data from your servers!
Also, the 'delete all' function on your site does not work, at least not with Safari. I 'moved' all to the 'delete' column on right, but clicking on 'delete selected' does nothing.
And with Chrome I couldn't even log in. Got some error about 'src' and try the support page.
I am sorry that app is frustrating you. There is a screen during setup that lets you know about the backup. This function can be turned off in the app. If you give me your user name I will delete your account from the database. The back up is meant to protect your contacts in the case that you loose your phone or get a new one. As for browser support, right now we are only supporting IE and Firefox. Again sorry the app is frustrating for you.
Great app!
I really like and appreciate this app. The 2 biggest features that drew me to waste countless hours playing w/ hero roms on my mytouch were hero's T9 dialer, and the social integration. I'll 3rd the motion for a T9 dialer in your app. No complaints otherwise. Bravo - and thanks for the great app.
P.S. Backup to server is a bit redundant in my opinion, because your contacts already sync w/ your Google acct - but, to each is own. I might be missing an advantage to it anyway. I just opted not to use it.
And props for soliciting feedback here in the forum - where the REAL users are.
DesertWolf1971 said:
There is a screen during setup that lets you know about the backup. This function can be turned off in the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Because I can see in the options where to change the time and frequency of the sync, but I don't see how to disable syncing altogether. Maybe I'm just missing something?
Good catch, looks like there is a bug, you should be able to set it to not backup. We will work to get that fix in.
I have been playing around with the Hero, but I am not sure I have found the T9 dialer, what does it do?
Feedback
I've been following this app since it first arrived, and I must say bravo for doing what only HTC dared to attempt. It works well, too, except for a few things.
1. It may SEEM that scrolling smoothness isn't that important. Ask Apple, they'll tell you the truth: Its the only thing the masses give a Sh&% about, how something looks. So imitate the apple or hero contact style, because the one here is rough but needs only an easy fix! Smooth scrolling and better "sleek" colors. Same for the dialer.
2. It seems to run too often in the background, which slows my phone seemingly, no matter how often i taskiller it.
Eagerly awaiting the next release...

[Q] What is the best phone tracker/recovery app?

I am new to Android. Just got my Vibrant. I want to protect this phone so that in case it is lost or stolen I can recover it. Could you tell me what are some of the best apps for this?
Here is a list of names I know about for now:
Where's My Droid - This is currently installed, but required me to send a text to my phone to activate the GPS and even then it won't keep the GPS active long enough to get a precise location. Furthermore, it can alert the would be robber.
Glympse - well, this is not for stolen phones
Wavesecure - couldn't find any good threads on this. Seems to have an annual subscription fee of $19. I don't want that. Just want a standalone tracker.
Remote security - Not clear that this is a good app.
TheftAlarm - Again, developed in foreign language and I don't know how good it is
MobileDefense - Maybe this is the best app, but it is still in beta and no more users are accepted. I already filled out a request.
Find My Android - Was suggested in this thread, but it doesn't seem to be different from Where's My Droid, except the notification when SIM is replaced.
Lookout Mobile Security - Doesn't seem bad, but it doesn't lock your phone remotely. Can easily uninstall the program. I also found out that I better use a different email address than the one my phone gets otherwise the phone gets an email with "location" of the phone when you look it up online. This is better than Where's My Droid since you can do it more discreetly online, without sending texts (but have to make sure the email you use is not managed by the phone).
Am I missing something? I really want to protect this phone and it is frustrating that among so many apps, we seem to be missing good anti-theft solutions. Preferably I want something that can lock the phone remotely and allow me to do things without interruptions from the thief or at least discreetly. What would you recommend?
Also, I have a rooted (stock) Vibrant.
Thanks.
Where's My Droid isn't exactly very subtle about sending out replies, the author basically said there's nothing he can do.
Most of the other options include AntiVirus and other nonsense, and are expensive or questionable.
Tasker can automatically upload GPS, respond to an email or SMS to do so.. If you send it the right command it could take pictures periodically, make an outgoing call, whatever... It's extremely flexible in what it can do.
khaytsus said:
Where's My Droid isn't exactly very subtle about sending out replies, the author basically said there's nothing he can do.
Most of the other options include AntiVirus and other nonsense, and are expensive or questionable.
Tasker can automatically upload GPS, respond to an email or SMS to do so.. If you send it the right command it could take pictures periodically, make an outgoing call, whatever... It's extremely flexible in what it can do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW! Ok, but the question is - 1.can it lock the phone remotely? 2.What happens if the thief uninstalls Tracker or changes the SIM (can you password protect it)? Finally, 3.can it take picture AND email them remotely? Otherwise, I don't see much use to this feature if the phone is gone.
Lookout seems rather good, but I have not tested it personally. I'd add a link, but I'm a new user. Should be easy to find with a Google/Market search, though.
Well that (un installing tasker)may be the case with any tech anti theft, if the thief is smart and careful they will wipe/reset/format whatever they took, rendering a soft lo jack useless
I would just get tasker and lookup findmyandroid on lifehacker, its the best current option
Captiv
Yeah, I found out about LookOut on Android forums. I have installed it. It doesn't allow you to lock the phone remotely and can easily be uninstalled.
As for Find My Android, I don't see how is it different from Where's My Droid., maybe except the part where you're notified if the SIM card is replaced.
I updated the original post.
Find my android isn't the name of the app, its what the lifehacker post is tagged as (#findmyandroid)
The program is tasker, and its more customizable and it can turn on gps
Captiv
Sure, Lookout can be uninstalled, as can any other app. But really, you should have some sort of password on your device. With pattern unlock, there's really no reason not to do so.
According to one of the devs on their forums, remote locking as well as "other features" will be coming to Lookout "very soon".
https://lookout.zendesk.com/entries/24881-remote-lock
In the meanwhile, I use WaveSecure for locking my phone and Lookout for tracking, as its mechanism seems much better.
If you want to prevent Lookout from being uninstalled, just move the apk to /system/app (assuming your phone is rooted).
I have had Wave Secure since the Beta (it is free to beta testers) and love it. I can understand not wanting to pay, but it really is a great app. They have a zip file that you can flash in recovery if you are rooted. That will prevent the app from being erased if the phone is factory reset. I have also been using an app lately called "Tasker". It can track your phone, although I have not used it for this. Here is a link to the Wiki.
http://tasker.wikidot.com/locatephone
GPS Tracker by Instamapper is the one I use most. With a text message, it will return its location via Google maps. It will continually do so for as long as you have it set up for. Every 10 Seconds, Every 2 minutes, Every half hour, etc. I used it to track my stolen phone with the laptop in the car. This app saved me from buying a new phone.
stickerbob said:
I have had Wave Secure since the Beta (it is free to beta testers) and love it. I can understand not wanting to pay, but it really is a great app. They have a zip file that you can flash in recovery if you are rooted. That will prevent the app from being erased if the phone is factory reset. I have also been using an app lately called "Tasker". It can track your phone, although I have not used it for this. Here is a link to the Wiki.
http://tasker.wikidot.com/locatephone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. Glad I got it while it was still a beta!

[APP] Executive Assistant - for anybody whose inc is an office phone too

Holy guacamole! Has anybody else seen or used this app? I am amazed - its spectacular. It is a 1 stop widget for email / calendar / tasks / sms / missed calls / voicemail / facebook / twitter / google reader.
I just downloaded and installed the free version of the app from market and various add-ons and am positively blown away. Will be buying the paid version to get rid of ads when i get home.
I have been searching for something like this for weeks and found a reference on droidforums or something like that. My stupid, stodgy, underpowered, small low res screen, bad browser, no apps, no customization blackberry can now safely be consigned to the trash can! My d-inc will be my new work phone and with this app and the widgets I have absolutely everything I needed.
A few things to note:
1. Set up took a small bit of time for me but once set up properly it is great.
2. Editing any incorrectly entered settings is confusing since the menu button keeps pulling up general phone settings. You have to click inside the widget and then press the menu button to get the app settings. They should make that better.
3. The widget app does not seem to support exchange email - just gmail including google apps and other IMAP/POP accounts such as yahoo, hotmail - you need paid accounts for those last 2 I believe. I guess for my exchange account i will use the htc widget (strangely though the app does support exchange calendars).
4. There are countless settings - spend the time to figure them out. Font size, color, background - way too many things can be changed.
5. I confused myself by using it on the lockscreen - when you switch on the screen, you dont see screen unlock - you just see a summary page of the emails / calendars etc etc. - you have to click the home button to get the slider to unlock your phone.
6. http://www.appventive.com/executive-assistant is the app site but there is not a helluva lot of info there. You are a bit on your own in figuring out the settings etc.
7. I have 2 google emails - 1 personal, 1 office g-app and of course google voice. It did not like that and would not login into all my email and voice till I entered their passwords properly instead of letting the app gather that from the device settings.
8. I have not tested battery drain yet but I suspect it will lead to some since it seems to pull the emails rather than just polling the android apps.
For anybody who wants to use their droids as work related phones - this is by far the best thing I have ever come across.
not that I'm cynical, and it does look interesting, but this post sure sounds like developer pumping his app
corefile said:
not that I'm cynical, and it does look interesting, but this post sure sounds like developer pumping his app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahahahaha. check my other posts - u will see i am a noob tinkering around - not a dev or anything like that - probably sound too excited because i finally got an app which makes my bberry (useless junk i was forced to use since the iphone is bad too) replaceable. am a private equity guy - i know financial statements not java or whatever android is written in.
PS: there is 1 more drawback - if u try to use multiple widgets, 1 setting applies to all. So u cant have 1 widget for SMS/Twitter/Facebook and 1 for email - maybe i am doing something wrong but thats what it seemed like.
Does not support exchange = fail.
Hatman41 said:
Does not support exchange = fail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 That is the only mail that I check on a daily basis. Double Fail!!
Devildog8791 said:
+1 That is the only mail that I check on a daily basis. Double Fail!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
triple it, it a deal breaker for me, great idea though. would buy it if it was able to read from the exchange mailbox (i don't want yet another mailbox checking or recieving, its already downloading the email, just read that inbox?)
If anybody can recommend anything better, I would love to try that. I suggested this only because there is nothing better than this out there - at least I have not found any. Even without exchange, there is no consolidated widget for all the things in 1 screen.
I have a JB iphone 4 too and I use lockinfo (cydia app). That's the best implementation of a launchpad for various items (calendar, weather, email, missed calls, sms, voicemail, notifications, tasks, twitter) and so on... So far no such widget/app seen on the android platform. This one is close but as you can see from my comments too, its not perfect.
I have Executive Assistant and I must say it's very useful.. if you're looking for something else that also displays all information you might want to try Slidescreen and Slidescreen Pro. I'm not sure if you can read exchange mail through them but they're very clean and professional looking.. they act as a new home though.
Good find!
Checkin out the free version now, no exchange support isn't an issue for me as I don't use it, but if the rest of the app is solid and the dev has enough of a following, I think it's safe to say that exchange support can be expected down the pipeline (Here's hoping since I know a lot of folks use it!)
OK, bought full version, dude SWEET find! Been looking for something like this!

[Q] Switching from an iphone - questions about android

I'm getting tired of my iPhone 3G, it's beginning to show its age with ios4 and I'm tired of running jailbreak just to get features I feel the device should have out of the box. This hurts both the stability of the device (jailbreak apps take up ram which in turn tends to cause other apps to crash since they can't allocate enough memory) and the overall system coherency (most mods and hacks don't work well with others and it becomes a chore to set everything up nice and clean).
So I'm thinking of switching to Android, I've done some research and I'm mostly torn between a few handsets (Desire Z, Galaxy S II, Desire S etc), but I think I'll decide after I visit the store and get a chance to play with them.
More to the point - I have some questions about the Android platform in general before I take the plunge.
1) I'm a heavy music listener, and I love how the iPod app does music. It's brilliant. How's the android keep up in this department? Making and syncing playlists on your computer? Dynamic playlists on the phone? Playback controls on the lockscreen? Last.fm sync? Switching tracks with volume buttons (CM7 can do that) Any other things I should be aware of?
2) Assuming I'll be setting up with my google account - how does android handle gmail contacts? I can tolerate google dumping anyone I email into my gmail contacts, but I don't want all that garbage on my phone. Any easy solutions?
2b) Pictures on contact list - sync?
2c) Aliases? I have other accounts set up in gmail (work, private, spam) and I need to send mail from all of them. Possible? Easy?
3) Any decent todo list applications? Apart from the usual rtm/evernote. I had a real trouble with this on the iphone. Good ones did not have lockinfo integration and the ones that had were either too expensive or did not suit my needs.
4) Upcoming events, birthdays, todo's on my lockscreen. This is a must. Possible?
5) I'm a bit of a social network whore. More and more often I tend to arrange meetings with friends using facebook/buzz/mailing groups. This means notifications and ease of replying to messages on various networks. I know for a fact that the notification system on the android is heavens above the crap apple delivers currently, and this will probably feel way better and more natural than on the iphone. Are there any particular issues in this area?
6) Battery life. Currently my 3G can go up to 3 days on a charge (usually 2), depending on usage. But I don't use the internet more than I have to since the device is a bit on the slow side since ios4... This will probably change How much does multitasking affect battery? Can you define apps that you want to close when you quit and apps that you want to go into the background (like chats or ims) Or is there some other clever way of easily managing the stuff that's sucking your juice? Any recommended handsets that have a particularly good battery life?
7) iTunes syncing backed up all applications and settings - any comparable solution on android?
8) Visual voicemail on the iphone was the best approach to voicemail I've seen. Any such on android?
9) How much fuss is upgrading the firmware? On the iphone you just press a button, sync and go grab a coffee. After it's finished you restore your jailbreak apps with another click and youre ready to roll. How does this work here? Assuming I'll root and get CM after a few weeks when I'm sure the handset won't need replacing
And finally - any other things I should know? Features I that a user coming from apple would find appealing?
Thanks
2) I honestly don't know. I have setup a seperate google account just for my phone.
You could be able to do all your e-mail dreams with an app. What about this?. Not sure about the buildin email app.
4) Anything is possible with "Widgetlocker" lockscreen.. well almost, but as long as you can get it as a widget you can place it on your "Widgetlocker" lockscreen.
6) Battery life is a problem for most phones, I have heard good things about LG Optimus 2X when it comes to battery. My HTC desire last about 2 days with moderate use. Its the mostly the screen and wireless network that drains the battery.
There is app-killers that can do all kinds of fancy things but often programs just "sleep" when put to the background and the android system automatically kills programs when need of resources.
9) In HTC phones you have to enable a check for firmware updates. When an update is published you will get a notice asked if you want to update. Don't know about other phones.
When dealing with rooted phones, you download a zip file containing the ROM to your SD card, reboot to recovery, do a "nand backup", flash ROM from zip file.. wait
1) I'm NOT a heavy music listener, but it seems nearly all you need is available on Androïd.
2) Pictures in contact list: yes. Aliases yes.
If you don't want to use google sync for your phone contacts, you can choose to store them only in the phone, and saving them in .vcf format (using Go Contact app for example).
I use K9 email client, with multipush abilities, as many mail accounts you want.
3) Don't know . See in Android Market site.
4) Yes. Specific widget.
5) Nope.
6) Battery is a complex problem. Depends on Android version, Baseband version, hardware, installed softwares (some launchers are draining more than others). My Optimus 2X is able to long 48h without being turned off, with a moderate usage, no games, some WiFi surfing.
7) Plenty: Titanium Backup, BackUP Everything etc....
8) Don't know what is visual voicemail. Lol. Never touched an Iphone.
9) Nearly as simple.

Got my sensation.. where to begin?

I finally got my phone today. I am new to android, and actually i am new to smartphones.. this is my first smartphone and i decided that if i get myself one im going big and im getting the sensation
my question is.. where to begin with? like i just have the phone in my hand.. what is the first thing i should do or configure on the phone? i know its maybe a big question, but any help on how to setup the phone in the best way would be appreciated, as like i said, it is my first smartphone
thanks
Just go through the initial setup and then just use it. Change the home screens to your liking, download some apps and enjoy the handset. There's not a lot else to do as yet
mazinya said:
I finally got my phone today. I am new to android, and actually i am new to smartphones.. this is my first smartphone and i decided that if i get myself one im going big and im getting the sensation
my question is.. where to begin with? like i just have the phone in my hand.. what is the first thing i should do or configure on the phone? i know its maybe a big question, but any help on how to setup the phone in the best way would be appreciated, as like i said, it is my first smartphone
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put it through it's paces I reckon to see everything is working out of the box. Sign up to gmail so you can use the market.
Use the GPS, internet, Youtube etc etc. Make sure everything works as they should.
Setting up the screen is already done for you just go to settings>Personalize and pick "Scene" or "Skin" to begin with.
Watch a quick Youtube video http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=How+to+operate+HTC+Sensation&aq=f
But you can customize it to your liking. Watching some videos will makes things quicker to pick up if you're new to Android phones.
Import your numbers to your sd card and then back to your google account, that way you won't lose your numbers if you lose your phone and when the time comes to upgrade to a new phone, you only have to sign in and you can have all your numbers back automatically, oh and your apps will come back too.
Sign into any emails you have and make sure that any new numbers you get you save to google and they will be kept too.
Try whats app and communicate for free across multiple platforms (supports BB, Iphone, symbian and Android) it's kinda like BBM, sign into facebook, twitter everything you have an account for and then sit back and let the phone do the rest, for me this is were HTC Sense stands alone, no other phone integrates social networking better.
Test your GPS out with the Navigation, join latitude and most importantly, make it your own.
Congrats on your new phone.
From all apps menu open "show me"
Very helpful info
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App
dladz said:
Import your numbers to your sd card and then back to your google account, that way you won't lose your numbers if you lose your phone and when the time comes to upgrade to a new phone, you only have to sign in and you can have all your numbers back automatically, oh and your apps will come back too.
Sign into any emails you have and make sure that any new numbers you get you save to google and they will be kept too.
Try whats app and communicate for free across multiple platforms (supports BB, Iphone, symbian and Android) it's kinda like BBM, sign into facebook, twitter everything you have an account for and then sit back and let the phone do the rest, for me this is were HTC Sense stands alone, no other phone integrates social networking better.
Test your GPS out with the Navigation, join latitude and most importantly, make it your own.
Congrats on your new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
would u mind telling me how to back them to my google account?
im planning on getting a 16gb card so i wouldnt want any contact to get lost when i change cards
also, should i be downloading juice defender as well?
mazinya said:
would u mind telling me how to back them to my google account?
im planning on getting a 16gb card so i wouldnt want any contact to get lost when i change cards
also, should i be downloading juice defender as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, if your numbers are on your sim then go to your people (phone book) press menu and click import / export, then import from sim, then select google.
If they're on your actual phone because you've input them one at a time, then click on import / export again and select export to sd card, then straight after it, press menu and click on import / export again, then click import from sd, when it asks where to? you say to google.
After you've done that simply click on menu from the phone book, go to view and just select google, as you have already moved them over.
PS: It may take a moment to sync all the contacts over so if it's dragging it's heels, make sure you have a good connection at the time ie: 3G upwards, preferably WIFI, and press menu, settings, accounts and sync and sync google.
That should sort that out for you
Not sure if you know this but when you save your numbers to google, it also means that you can't lose your numbers and if you change your phone, all you will have to do is sign into your google account and the numbers will come flooding back on their own, this will work for apps too, providing you've told your phone to do so.
Once you've done this with your phone, it won't make any difference what sd card you have in your phone.
As for juice defender, no not really, just go to accounts and sync, tell the phone not to sync stocks and news and weather all the time oh and facebook, just do them manually, i tend to leave google alone and allow it to sync, last thing you need is you turn off google, forget to sync in a month and you lose all the contacts which you aquired in that time!
Juice defender and the like are nifty apps but not really needed unless you have probs with your battery, your not going to get much more than a day from any Smart phone these days besides a nokia 6200000 or whatever they're called, just try to preserve what you can, turn off wireless communications unless you need them, like GPS, WIFI, mobile data and bluetooth.
Like i said b4 alter your account settings for different services, alter the brightness of your phone and when you get the chance to root properly, get autostarts and set up some rules for your phone so your not starting up programs that you don't need, autostarts is like a task killer, but instead of killing open apps and actively running in the background all the time, it actually sets the rules for them so they can be told not to open before they do, sounds hard but it's really easy
Task killers aren't recommended, they kill processes which shouldn't be killed, 99 - 100 people on XDA will tell you that, the other 1 is probably the bloke who moans about having a crap battery all the time
dladz, thank you very very much for the elaborated answer. it is greatly appreciated.
about the battery.. i noticed that i cant see battery percentage like other here are showing.. i see stats but i dont see in percentages how much is left, only in a green line that when it goes down it gets orange and then red.
would i need to install juice defender if i wanna see accurate percentages?
if you have in mind any more useful and necessary apps that i should download and install, it would be great.
When you get it all set up,go and read about the problems others are having and see if you can live with them,example my bluetooth has a bad background noice rendering it almost useless,I thought it was the headset I was using but turned out it's the phone so if a s/w update doesn't fix it then I will have to send it back to HTC,just got it back from a loose charging port fix.So basically if you need to exchange it don't wait like me and have to send it in for warranty repair.
mazinya said:
dladz, thank you very very much for the elaborated answer. it is greatly appreciated.
about the battery.. i noticed that i cant see battery percentage like other here are showing.. i see stats but i dont see in percentages how much is left, only in a green line that when it goes down it gets orange and then red.
would i need to install juice defender if i wanna see accurate percentages?
if you have in mind any more useful and necessary apps that i should download and install, it would be great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the Battery Widget by Elvison.
It will do what you are looking for
Don't obsess over the battery
Congrats on your purchase, I hope you enjoy android and your phone as much as I do. Everyone here has experiences fast battery drain when they get their new phone. The reason is because they're using their new phone a whole lot simply because it's a new phone. It's not rocket science. Just be sure to charge it whenever you can and you'll be fine.
Be sure to check out the free apps in the android market. The thing I love most about android is the voice command ability, and how it's so tightly knit into all of googles services. "text - Mary", "Call - Teresa", "Navigate to In N Out". You can also use voice to text to dictate an email while on the road. Have fun.
Macklessdaddy said:
When you get it all set up,go and read about the problems others are having and see if you can live with them,example my bluetooth has a bad background noice rendering it almost useless,I thought it was the headset I was using but turned out it's the phone so if a s/w update doesn't fix it then I will have to send it back to HTC,just got it back from a loose charging port fix.So basically if you need to exchange it don't wait like me and have to send it in for warranty repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont wanna jinx myself, but so far i have none of the problem mentioned here on the board and i hope it stays like that although most problems started to pop out at a much later time, so i will keep crossing my fingers it wont. so far im loving it
Yea I just started setting up my phone yesterday too, and it's a little overwhelming, lol. It's gonna be a wild ride, with s-off rumored to come out soon.
mazinya said:
dladz, thank you very very much for the elaborated answer. it is greatly appreciated.
about the battery.. i noticed that i cant see battery percentage like other here are showing.. i see stats but i dont see in percentages how much is left, only in a green line that when it goes down it gets orange and then red.
would i need to install juice defender if i wanna see accurate percentages?
if you have in mind any more useful and necessary apps that i should download and install, it would be great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your more than welcome m8, hope it helped.
As for the battery, i would put up with it until we are able to permanently root our devices, get a custom recovery on there and the rom's will come flooding in, then there will be a percentage over the battery on your home screen (up the top)
There are apps which will give you a read out, too many to mention but they run in the background and I could do without that and for that reason i wouldn't recommend them because i wouldn't get them, if you don't mind the app running then there are loads on the market.
Paging Dr B said:
Congrats on your purchase, I hope you enjoy android and your phone as much as I do. Everyone here has experiences fast battery drain when they get their new phone. The reason is because they're using their new phone a whole lot simply because it's a new phone. It's not rocket science. Just be sure to charge it whenever you can and you'll be fine.
Be sure to check out the free apps in the android market. The thing I love most about android is the voice command ability, and how it's so tightly knit into all of googles services. "text - Mary", "Call - Teresa", "Navigate to In N Out". You can also use voice to text to dictate an email while on the road. Have fun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm from Liverpool born n bred and believe me, the people who made the voice recognition did not have scousers in mind when it was made.
I've had some pretty strange things come out of what i've said to my phone, needless to say some other people with strong accents will have the same problem it's funny tho.
If i speak the queens then it works perfect but i must sound like a right tit.
another question i have.. when i download an app or a game from the market.. how do i know if this app\game should be installed on the phone or on the SD card?
Is there an option to to choose where to install the app? (i dont think i have seen an option to choose)
mazinya said:
another question i have.. when i download an app or a game from the market.. how do i know if this app\game should be installed on the phone or on the SD card?
Is there an option to to choose where to install the app? (i dont think i have seen an option to choose)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not so much an option, rather the ability to move it afterwards.
So if an app is installed on my SD card and then im switching cards, then i will have to install this app again right?
Your phone will still know that the app is installed but the files will have shifted so it won't open it or it will force close.
best thing to do is to get a decent SD card and just take care of it, personally when I really install a rom, I clear all the data on it by formatting the card, that way you get a fresh slate.
I back up co pilot and some games my pics, tunes and videos. The reat can be re iinstalled.
Got it... well, i ordered a 16GB card so until the card arrives i will wait with installations

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