Android from a Windows Mobile perspective

[Phil Nickinson]

Hey, everybody. Phil here. And it's time to look at Android from a Windows Mobile perspective. Now, I know a bunch of you came over from WinMo, so I expect some good replies here.

1. 1. If you did leave Windows Mobile for Android, how come? What attracted you to Android?
2. Are the multiple versions of Android causing you any headaches? Or are you just waiting patiently for an upgrade?
3. Which do you prefer? Stock Android, or something like HTC's sense on top of it?
4. Do you worry about having all of your information in the Google ecosytem?
5. If you could fix one thing about Android, what would it be?

That's it, folks. Get on it!

[daThomas]

Originally Posted by Phil Nickinson

Hey, everybody. Phil here. And it's time to look at Android from a Windows Mobile perspective. Now, I know a bunch of you came over from WinMo, so I expect some good replies here.

1. Do you worry about having all of your information in the Google ecosytem?
2. If you could fix one thing about Android, what would it be?

That's it, folks. Get on it!

I recently jumped to a Droid from a treo700wx. I'm currently resisting the Gorg cloud. This may be an uphill battle given it's the biz plan for the Android OS but I just don't want my stuff read by the Chinese gov't.

I think they may come around and see they need a desktop sync option for Outlook but if they don't third parties will, like markspace's Missing Sync which almost has all the features I need. Soon I hope. Soon.

[spj]

Originally Posted by Phil Nickinson

Hey, everybody. Phil here. And it's time to look at Android from a Windows Mobile perspective. Now, I know a bunch of you came over from WinMo, so I expect some good replies here.
That's it, folks. Get on it!

well i came form winmo i was using the sprint touch pro

[*]1. If you did leave Windows Mobile for Android, how come? What attracted you to Android?--I wanna to try out a new os system, coming from the old treo 650 didn't like it to much then to my first htc mogul then touch to touch diamond then touch pro...lol

[*]Are the multiple versions of Android causing you any headaches? Or are you just waiting patiently for an upgrade?---It really doesn't matter to me as long i can use the apps that is available regardless of what version it is I'm happy.But i wish they can improve the video quality and the camera..

[*]Which do you prefer? Stock Android, or something like HTC's sense on top of it?-- i like it with the htc sense..

[*]Do you worry about having all of your information in the Google ecosytem?--it don't matter to me i don't keep any personal information that would jeopardize my lively hood

[*]If you could fix one thing about Android, what would it be?---the video playing the way it renders sucks....

[ardoreal]

Having used a Touch Diamond for a while, I can say this...

Android is FANTASTIC at managing your memory, provided you're on Droid or N1 class hardware. Droid Eris users make a lot of use out of a task killer, but if your device has enough RAM your apps release the memory as you move on to launching other things. The scheme really works well for me and the multitasking is easier.

As far as Sense goes, if you have widgets such as the beautiful widgets from Levelup Studio you almost get Sense as it is. Sense wasn't so much an interface, but a widget engine that lets you run more powerful widgets that manage stuff like your SMS messages, refresh and post your twitter posts, and music widgets. In some cases such as Twidroid Pro, the Twitter widget provided with the app is better than HTC's. Mixzing is another example of a widget that's made more powerful by an app that it has access too.

Sense on Android gives a more inexperienced user a set package and makes it easier for them to get started. After having loaded some really powerful and versatile applications however, I'm indifferent to Sense and I lost sight of its advantages.

Multiple device styles and fragmentation, etc, do not seem an issue to me.

[xdalaw]

Good topic, Phil. I'm a long time WM user, but am just really tired of seeing the mobile OS world pass me by.

I've been utilizing Google stuff for the past year or so, so moving onto Android makes sense--(no pun intended) and assuming it works well and keeps my interest.

I'm stuck with Sprint, so am waiting to see the upcoming Android lineup for later in '10. But, I'll thinking Android is the way I'll go.

No iPhone for me and while I like the Pre/WebOS, I don't have a ton of confidence that it'll succeed in this competitive environment.

[techboydino]

[QUOTE

1. 1. If you did leave Windows Mobile for Android, how come? What attracted you to Android? I needed open source. Freedom in choice plus I enjoy all the Google Services native.
2. Are the multiple versions of Android causing you any headaches? Or are you just waiting patiently for an upgrade? I run Modded Roms anyway, I switch every week.
3. Which do you prefer? Stock Android, or something like HTC's sense on top of it? Vanilla Android with whatever theme I want. Never really like MFG's UI's
4. Do you worry about having all of your information in the Google ecosytem? Nope, I prefer it. Never miss a thing no matter where Im at.
5. If you could fix one thing about Android, what would it be?

More Apps.

Came from a BJ2 with some cooked Rom's. I love open source.

That's it, folks. Get on it![/quote]

[jfa1]

More apps are bound to be forthcoming. I too am looking at android but being with AT I am keeping an open mind but not real sure about what appears to be ATT's first android device the backflip.

[doogald]

1. If you did leave Windows Mobile for Android, how come? What attracted you to Android?

I just wanted away from WM. Anybody using WM who is paying attention realizes that very few new apps and very few developers are creating new apps for the platform, or even updating existing ones. For example, MLB created a fantastic app for iPhone, some apps for Blackberry, a big nothing for WM, which has been around far longer than either platform. Internet browsing on WM stinks; the browser is slow, and does not support modern browser standards. WM has a tired, mini-desktop UI method, which almost always requires a stylus (for touchscreens) or a dpad moving an option at a time.

I own a Mac, and Microsoft has no sync app for Macs. (Big surprise.) I've tried third party syncing apps, which did not work for me, so I ended up syncing my calendars and contacts with Google Cal and Gmail, and having all of my mail accounts POPed to my gmail account, since they all have so much SPAM and WM has no SPAM filtering in the mail application. I then started using Exchange sync with Nuevasync.com, but every once in a while I'd find that something changed on Nuevasync's servers, stopping automatic OTA sync until I manually went in to the ActiveSync app on the phone to say that it was ok to accept the change (meaning that I was missing pushed mail until it was sent.)

I was actually planning to move to an iPhone, not an Android phone (I also sync everything to MobileMe), but realized that staying with Verizon was more important than getting an iPhone. Since I am syncing everything to Google anyway, Android just makes sense.

Are the multiple versions of Android causing you any headaches? Or are you just waiting patiently for an upgrade?

Um, not sure why it would bother me? My phone works fine on the version on which it runs; there are plenty of apps that I care about that work with it.

This is an especially weird question for a Windows Mobile user to ask, by the way. Not only are there 6.0, 6.1, and 6.5 phones, each of those have touchscreen/pro editions and non-touch/standard editions, and it is incredibly rare for phones to get more than one version update (my last phone had zero - it shipped with 6.0, had a bug patch, but no 6.1.)

Which do you prefer? Stock Android, or something like HTC's sense on top of it?

My phone had Sense. I took a long time deciding between an Eris and a Droid, but I really liked the way that the Eris worked. I guess I'd say that I prefer Sense, but I am sure that I could get by with stock Android.

Do you worry about having all of your information in the Google ecosytem?

Obviously not. I'm not sure why I would worry about this? What makes having things in Google any worse than syncing with Microsoft's MyPhone, Apple's MobileMe, or even my cable ISP? They surely know a lot more about me than even Google, if they care to keep track.

If you could fix one thing about Android, what would it be?

I'd support multi-touch in all apps. Or have a centralized location for Notification settings, rather than have each app have its own notification settings.

[DudeMG]

Originally Posted by Phil Nickinson

3. Which do you prefer? Stock Android, or something like HTC's sense on top of it?
4. Do you worry about having all of your information in the Google ecosytem?
5. If you could fix one thing about Android, what would it be?

That's it, folks. Get on it!

3. I prefer a nice theme like htc's as lomg as it looks good and is functional.
4. I think about it sometimes and do get a little worried.
5. If i could fix one thing, it would be the updates. I can't think of a good way to solve this except, dare i say it, closed source. No, i love the fact that its open sourced but there has to be some way to let companies write their own additions and still have google be able to update the core of the software.

So thats all...

[slbailey1]

Originally Posted by Phil Nickinson

Hey, everybody. Phil here. And it's time to look at Android from a Windows Mobile perspective. Now, I know a bunch of you came over from WinMo, so I expect some good replies here.

1. 1. If you did leave Windows Mobile for Android, how come? What attracted you to Android?
2. Are the multiple versions of Android causing you any headaches? Or are you just waiting patiently for an upgrade?
3. Which do you prefer? Stock Android, or something like HTC's sense on top of it?
4. Do you worry about having all of your information in the Google ecosytem?
5. If you could fix one thing about Android, what would it be?

That's it, folks. Get on it!

1. I jumped from the HTC Touch to the HTC Hero because of the phone selections and the HTC Sense UI. I was waiting for the HTC Diamond2 but it was not comming to Sprint.

2. Currently it's not causing a problem, I'm patiently waiting for v2.1 - I like the Hero.

3. Right now I like the HTC Sense UI; but, my next phone may be a stock Android phone because it seems like it gets Android updates faster. I want to see what it takes to make a stock Android phone to look and function like the HTC Sense UI.

4. No, because my information is not stored with Google. All my contact, calendar, and emails are stored on my Sherweb Exchange account. I also have a hotmail and yahoo account. The only thing I use my Google account for are things dealing with the phone itself (Activation and Androd Market).

5. A full and complete implimetation of Exchange.