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If any of you of you guys are like me you've been waiting for BlackBerry connect to work for the blueangel forever. I have downloaded the software and fiddled with it a million times, the fact of the matter is that it only works for Tmobile UK right now. The rest of us are screwed. But there is an alternative, microsoft has recently release pocket MSN, it works exactly like the blackberry web client, except that after the initial 19.99 fee it is completely FREE!!!!!!. Unlike other push email alternatives where although you might get a few months grace period they are pay services. Pocket MSN pushes your hotmail account directly to your phone, and no text messaging BS like activesync AUTD. its actual push email. You can either foward your email to hotmail, or have your hotmail account search you pop mail boxes. And plus since microsft makes the phones operating system and has access to the source codes, Pocket MSN works seamlessly with the phone. Now that I finish telling the benefits, the downsides is the fact that there is no alert sound when an email comes in, or at least I dont know how to set it up. Another downside is the fact the there is no way for it to push you coporate email, unless you foward your coporate email to hotmail, which is a security risk. Another downside is having to create a hotmail account, but then again you have to create a blackberry account when using blackberry web client. The last downside the I can think of is the 19.99 freaking fee!!!, I guess a one time payment is better the monthly payments that most companies charge. Tell me what you guys think, I think its worth though
^-- thanks for the infomation. This would be an asset so long as it isn't a spamware of some kind and as long as I don't get any spams from MSN.
Is there a email server script that would do the same thing if one owns there own unix server? I will research on this, but just in case someone out there knows the answer.
So what your telling me is that:
* Pocket MSN works with my companies Corporate eMail services
* Pocket MSN works with my companies iPager (Interactive Pager) service
* that my companies multi thousand dollar BES infrastructure can utilize Pocket MSN
* That As a message is delivered to the system you get a notification
* That as a message is delivered to a user I get a notification
* As the user reads the message I get a notification
* As the user deletes the message I get a notification
* That it is instant and ready for corporate usage
* That I can attach an intranet link (not InterNET) and the receiving party can then access that link over the PocketMSN network
Or are you telling me that you nor your company do not highly depend on these features..... because ours (Large telecom company) lives, breathes, and dies by these little devices.
Thanks for your advice on PocketMSN, however I WANT and Need Blackberry Connect for Pocket PC, regardless if you are happy with PocketMSN or not.
I hope all that use and depend on the blackberry devices will continue to borrow, test, and hack the software until one of us gets it working. That's what this board is for.
Raptor
Hmm, I don't think Pocket MSN is implying on changing the face of such technology. Some of us home users don't have the capital to run a service such as yours, nor do we even use your network. I am looking for a free altrenative that works correctly with no string attached. The key word is "alternatrive", NOT replacement.
Yes I understand, was just commenting on then first comment to "Stop waiting for BlackBerry connect". I know there are other services (such I am currently using XpressMail), but those of us who are waiting on the Blackberry Connect for Pocket PC...... need just that and no other service will suffice.
Raptor said:
Yes I understand, was just commenting on then first comment to "Stop waiting for BlackBerry connect". I know there are other services (such I am currently using XpressMail), but those of us who are waiting on the Blackberry Connect for Pocket PC...... need just that and no other service will suffice.
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I wasn't aware PocketMSN was pushware. Refuse to pay £20 for the software when it will be free with magneto devices.
Patience on BB - I have been using the latest version, and all indications are that it's mostly good.... as far as BB ever goes on a non-RIM device....
8)
Might not be BES but still great software
Hey Raptor, yeah ok I understand that if your going to use blackberry to the fullest extent, then pocket MSN or any alternative does not nearly match up. But alot of us only use the most fundamental features of blackberry email, and for that this software seems to be more then enough, as a matter of fact, for those of us who only use blackberry web client, I find Pocket MSN is just as good if not better, paying 20 bucks for the software really sucked especially for a cheap ass like me. But I am not paying any extra monthly fee. Which is good. So this software might not be suitable for your coporate "MEGA" company. But for blackberry Web Client users this software is a great substitute maybe a replacement, I am not sure why microsoft did not offer this for free. Usually when microsoft tries to bully other companies to the ground (Lotus 123, Netscape, Real Audio) they give it away.
Not as cheap as me... Whenever I need to check my Hotmail, I go to http://mobile.msn.com/pocketpc/ and read my Hotmail for free...
Hope the Pocket MSN pushed email feature comes with message notification. If not, it's no better than going to the link above...
For something that's "in the middle groud" try Smartners "always on mail" (www.alwaysonmail.com) 2 months free then $4 per month. True push e-mail, so no need to keep checking e-mail accounts..
To fix the alarm and wake up problems I recommend trying Pockmax AlarmToday and PhoneAlarm (www.pocketmax.net). Great apps and great tech support form Bruce!
For something that's "in the middle groud" try Smartners "always on mail" (www.alwaysonmail.com) 2 months free then $4 per month. True push e-mail, so no need to keep checking e-mail accounts..
To fix the alarm and wake up problems I recommend trying Pockmax AlarmToday and PhoneAlarm (www.pocketmax.net). Great apps and great tech support form Bruce!
Questions About Pocket MSN
For those who have tried Pocket MSN, a few questions:
- How does this app impact battery life?
- Has anybody been able to get audible alerts working?
- Are you positive this does not rely on test messages/autd?
Thanks in advance.
David
Re: Questions About Pocket MSN
davpel said:
For those who have tried Pocket MSN, a few questions:
- How does this app impact battery life?
- Has anybody been able to get audible alerts working?
- Are you positive this does not rely on test messages/autd?
Thanks in advance.
David
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Does it impact battery life, yes i guess it does. Because technically your leaving your gprs data connection on all the time. But if you compare it to checking your email every ten minutes then its way better. AS for audible alerts i have not been able to figure that out as of yet. And yes i am positive that there are no text messages, it is purely data based
To Raptor - chill out - nobody is planning to take your toys away. We aint curing cancer here.
Thanks for the quick reply. One more question. Do you know whether you can specify a "reply to" address for replying to messages recieved on your device via Hotmail? The reason that I ask is that if I go this route, I will set up a Hotmail account and have it pull my mail from my normal email accounts via POP/IMAP, but when I reply by phone, I don't want the Hotmail address showing. I know that I can do this with the standard Pocket Outlook mailbox and with the autd/exchange solution.
If this works for me, I guess the crappy thing is that it will cost me about 40 bucks. 19 fo Pocket MSN, and then another 19 yearly for Hotmail Plus since, as far as I can tell, Microsoft now makes you get a Plus account if you want to be able to have your Hotmail account pull from POP/IMAP. Kind of crappy, if you ask me. Yahoo!'s free service includes POP/IMAP.
David
Couldn't you just set up a forward from your pop3 account to hotmail?
Yes, forwarding will work. But then if I hit "reply" to the message, it will send the reply to my POP account rather than the actual sender -- at least, that's what I assume will happen.
To Raptor - chill out - nobody is planning to take your toys away. We aint curing cancer here.
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Obviously you do not understand.... with better communications programs we are much closer to curing caner and a host of other diseases....
I receive, on a fairly frequent basis, the same text message from a coworker of mine. They ask for a particular password (because they can never remember it) and I give it to them. It can, at times, be a little annoying, but it did get me thinking...
Is there a program that'll auto reply to text messages conforming to a certain pattern and from a certain party? Is there a program that'll make it so any text from Bob saying "whats the pw" will automatically be replied to with the password?
I searched and found a whole bunch of stuff, but don't think they're exactly what you're looking for. Perhaps someone else personally knows of a particular application that is suitable.
But anyway, I just want to say that you need to file a complaint against that co-worker!
-Sharing passwords should be against your company policy.
- Releasing passwords via an unsecure medium (ie, SMS) should also be against policy.
- Also, if you've sent him the password via SMS before, he should be smart enough to just look through his SMS history for it.
By the way, it's not worth installing an application just because of 1 person's memory problem. You should grab his mobile and save the password as a note on his device. Super cheap dumbphones have notes applications these days...
ohyeahar said:
I searched and found a whole bunch of stuff, but don't think they're exactly what you're looking for. Perhaps someone else personally knows of a particular application that is suitable.
But anyway, I just want to say that you need to file a complaint against that co-worker!
-Sharing passwords should be against your company policy.
- Releasing passwords via an unsecure medium (ie, SMS) should also be against policy.
- Also, if you've sent him the password via SMS before, he should be smart enough to just look through his SMS history for it.
By the way, it's not worth installing an application just because of 1 person's memory problem. You should grab his mobile and save the password as a note on his device. Super cheap dumbphones have notes applications these days...
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It's a screen saver password for a demo computer. There's only one account on the computer - 'demo'. The fact that it even has a password is fairly ridiculous, imho - it sits in storage until an employee takes it out and prospective customers aren't left alone with it. But alas, I don't have much say in the matter.
My wife and I both now have WM phones (mine is a Tilt 2, hers a Pure) and we don't want to spend money on text messages to each other, since each text message would count twice... once for her receiving and once for me sending. (on a pay per use plan it would be $0.40 each!).
I was looking for other options. Push email is o.k. but often times there can be a minute or more delay, and my early tests of push gmail are not producing any confidence that it would push reliably.
So then I was thinking IM. It looks like IM programs would be battery hogs, and have to stay running in the background, and could easily be accidentally closed. Also, when the phone goes to sleep it seems like they then switch you to "offline".
So am I missing something? What are my sms like, non sms options?
Also does anyone have any small programs that would set up a auto-soft reset on a repeating schedule, it would be great if I could start the morning with a fresh phone. Thanks.
boufa said:
My wife and I both now have WM phones (mine is a Tilt 2, hers a Pure) and we don't want to spend money on text messages to each other, since each text message would count twice... once for her receiving and once for me sending. (on a pay per use plan it would be $0.40 each!).
I was looking for other options. Push email is o.k. but often times there can be a minute or more delay, and my early tests of push gmail are not producing any confidence that it would push reliably.
So then I was thinking IM. It looks like IM programs would be battery hogs, and have to stay running in the background, and could easily be accidentally closed. Also, when the phone goes to sleep it seems like they then switch you to "offline".
So am I missing something? What are my sms like, non sms options?
Also does anyone have any small programs that would set up a auto-soft reset on a repeating schedule, it would be great if I could start the morning with a fresh phone. Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Yes, any non-sms messaging app for your phone would obviously use data (3G or EDGE connection) to communicate, and would need to be left on all the time to be able to receive incoming messages and notify you in real-time...so battery drain would be in direct proportion to that.
The best solution I've ever seen for that is Palringo, a free IM-integrator app that can connect you through most of the common IM networks (yahoo, AIM, Google talk, etc), or just direct through it's own (if I remember correctly)...meaning that as long as you and she both have the palringo client installed, you don't necessarily have to use any of those services to be able to IM each other. It's also free, and I seem to recall that it can be set (but isn't by default) to stay connected even when the phone goes to sleep, but don't quote me on that part.
It would be great if one of these programs had a "listening" service that would run in the background and then notify you of the "call" similar to an email.
I have seen a few online, (my research has just begun) that indicates "push notifications". Sound interesting, the data connection would remain active all the time that does not bother me.
I seem to have lost the setting to switch the "x" button from close to minimize. That would solve the issue with accidental closing the program. It would have to be managed via the task manager.. no biggy.. and then if I can find a soft reset scheduler it would keep the open programs from overwhelming the phone.
boufa said:
It would be great if one of these programs had a "listening" service that would run in the background and then notify you of the "call" similar to an email.
I have seen a few online, (my research has just begun) that indicates "push notifications". Sound interesting, the data connection would remain active all the time that does not bother me.
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Click to collapse
If you'll find one, please let me know
lost the setting to switch the "x" button from close to minimize.
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it's the other way around. default for winmo is minimize, there is
an htc bundled app called taskman. it's in settings - task manager which is making apps close when you click X
plenty of other apps can change that too
and then if I can find a soft reset scheduler it would keep the open programs from overwhelming the phone.
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i made myself app doing change on backlight settings every morning and evening, I changed it for you to do reset
give it a try tell me if it's working for you and if error will pop up let me know what's it saying, at least line number
[Q] Have you ever heard of mystery texts from 9329 saying "Your validation code is: "
I was really creeped out by this today.
Normally when you get a text saying "Your validation code is: [followed by some 8 digit code] " it's because *you* asked for it.
And if you *didn't* ask for it, you could be justifiably concerned that someone else *did* try to authenticate using your credentials somewhere.
Usually this is a harmless random occurrence, but in my case today I got three of these in a row immediately after the phone recovered from a mysterious freeze.
Today I had been downloading some unfamiliar apps ("VPN Connections", VPNC widget, and 2X (remote desktop) Client after which the phone did something I haven't seen before: I was running the maps application when it froze, stayed frozen, and after trying everything possible, I just held down the power key for like 20 seconds after which the blue skateboard CM7 boot animation appeared immediately (bypassing the usual white HTC EVO 4G screen) and the OS reloaded in just a few seconds.
Admittedly this fast boot behavior could be normal for all I know, but combined with the rest of it seems really odd and I feel paranoid.
What could I have been doing lately that might trigger this particular sequence of mystery freeze followed by mystery text?
Has anyone personally experienced anything similar?
bump - I did search google for any reports of similar experiences and got nothing which is why I thought I might ask around here..
I called Sprint. They could not tell me anything about these text messages or any text messages in fact. They said they have access to call detail but not text details. Basically unless law enforcement gets involved you can't talk to the super *duper* part of Sprint support that can retrieve information on texts. Seems a little lame not to be able to talk to customers about what is going on on their own network, but there it is.
Anyway while I was researching all this I checked my account online and while reviewing my bill I discovered a (presumably older and unrelated) mystery charge for $9.99 from
Mobile Love: Alerts - 34095 MBLLOVE
If you google this scam you will find many people receive three text messages in a row (in this case from 34095) and then discover the charge on their bill later on. Supposedly if you text "STOP" back to that number you don't get charged but it's a total scam either way. It's possible I got a text from 34095 at some point and just disregarded it. I can't remember honestly. Anyways Sprint removed the charge for me.
They also said, going forward, if any charges appear as a result of the 9329 texts (see OP) I could always call back and have them removed later. Otherwise there will not be any record of these texts or any way to find out more about them. Ever.
I'm not really as worried about getting *charged* for something as somebody untraceably signing up for some *access* to something in my name. Oh well. No point in worrying about something you can't control I guess.
Wow that's bizarre dude.
Are you sure you weren't looking for love in all the wrong places?
Sent from my Infected EVO using XDA Premium App.
KB112 said:
Are you sure you weren't looking for love in all the wrong places?
Sent from my Infected EVO using XDA Premium App.
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Zing!
Sent from space
My guess is that you installed an app that had permission to modify your SMS Text Messages and Use Services That Cost You Money. Alternately, if any of the apps required root access that is the same thing.
What happens is this: the app uses it's permissions to send a SMS text to a short code and then delete the text. That way you cannot directly see that "you" signed up for a premium text service. You need to be very careful to look at permissions before installing apps of questionable origin... even if they are on the official android market... even if they do not require root.
NxNW said:
I was really creeped out by this today.
Normally when you get a text saying "Your validation code is: [followed by some 8 digit code] " it's because *you* asked for it.
And if you *didn't* ask for it, you could be justifiably concerned that someone else *did* try to authenticate using your credentials somewhere.
Usually this is a harmless random occurrence, but in my case today I got three of these in a row immediately after the phone recovered from a mysterious freeze.
Today I had been downloading some unfamiliar apps ("VPN Connections", VPNC widget, and 2X (remote desktop) Client after which the phone did something I haven't seen before: I was running the maps application when it froze, stayed frozen, and after trying everything possible, I just held down the power key for like 20 seconds after which the blue skateboard CM7 boot animation appeared immediately (bypassing the usual white HTC EVO 4G screen) and the OS reloaded in just a few seconds.
Admittedly this fast boot behavior could be normal for all I know, but combined with the rest of it seems really odd and I feel paranoid.
What could I have been doing lately that might trigger this particular sequence of mystery freeze followed by mystery text?
Has anyone personally experienced anything similar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the Sprint Visual Voicemail app uses a validation code
The other day I was in my Sprint.com account and found 2 9.99 charges on 2 of my lines for some text thing also. I called Sprint and told them I don't know where they came from. Sprint took the charges off. I asked them if there was anything I could do about it because this wasn't the first time it had happened. The lady said I can block all 3rd party text so you don't get spam text and extra charges. It didn't effect anything else. I had them do it and everything works flawlessly. It doesn't cost a dime for them to do it.
Typical SMS scam, the really messed up part is that the carrier takes a cut in exchange for looking the other way and acting like they don't know whats going on..... essentially, by NOT responding to these messages you signed up for their service. Thankfully, these have never shown up on my bill, but if they did I wouldn't call sprint....Ill call my lawyer instead.
This video explains everything....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9MQAfh-bCE&feature=youtu.be
One of my co-workers got one of these messages like a year ago, he has paid it every month because he never looks at his bill but just pays it regardless of the amount. On the flipside, people make fun of me sometimes for taking my good-ol' paper check down to the bank and not having my bills automatically pay themselves....
EDIT: Im astounded at the claim made by the poster above me, where sprint was actually willing to do something about it...I deal with a lot of cell phones and I have never seen an instance where a carrier took proactive action without hassle...they always pull the "duhhhhhhhhhhhh...we don't know whats going on so were going to transfer you around until you get frustrated and give up/hang up".
starnostar said:
Typical SMS scam, the really messed up part is that the carrier takes a cut in exchange for looking the other way and acting like they don't know whats going on..... essentially, by NOT responding to these messages you signed up for their service. Thankfully, these have never shown up on my bill, but if they did I wouldn't call sprint....Ill call my lawyer instead.
This video explains everything....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9MQAfh-bCE&feature=youtu.be
One of my co-workers got one of these messages like a year ago, he has paid it every month because he never looks at his bill but just pays it regardless of the amount. On the flipside, people make fun of me sometimes for taking my good-ol' paper check down to the bank and not having my bills automatically pay themselves....
EDIT: Im astounded at the claim made by the poster above me, where sprint was actually willing to do something about it...I deal with a lot of cell phones and I have never seen an instance where a carrier took proactive action without hassle...they always pull the "duhhhhhhhhhhhh...we don't know whats going on so were going to transfer you around until you get frustrated and give up/hang up".
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It wasn't a claim. They did it. I told her what was up and she got her supervisor on the phone and they did it. I'm sorry if you think things can't be done with a good attitude and the right words.
I wanted to ask for some clarification on this actually: you said they happily took action to block "all 3rd party texts". Does that mean you have effectively disabled SMS completely?
I mean I do want to receive real texts from warm bodies. Do they have some way of detecting and blocking texts from short codes?
Does this break other notifications (eg visual voicemail or alerts from sprint letting you know about new services or when your bill is ready for viewing)?
NxNW said:
I wanted to ask for some clarification on this actually: you said they happily took action to block "all 3rd party texts". Does that mean you have effectively disabled SMS completely?
I mean I do want to receive real texts from warm bodies. Do they have some way of detecting and blocking texts from short codes?
Does this break other notifications (eg visual voicemail or alerts from sprint letting you know about new services or when your bill is ready for viewing)?
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Click to collapse
The other services you are referring to are Sprint services. This blocks 3rd party. Meaning outside spam text as we call them. It does not disable SMS at all. It just blocks outside spam text and things that cost you extra charges from happening.
mdean1981 said:
It wasn't a claim. They did it. I told her what was up and she got her supervisor on the phone and they did it. I'm sorry if you think things can't be done with a good attitude and the right words.
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I didn't use the term "claim" to be rude, just out of personal philosophy that this is the internet and everything is to be taken with a grain of salt, this is compounded by my experiences with carriers and their knowledge and/or willingness to take care of the issue.
I have personally never had to call sprint for this issue for myself or anyone else, 99% of the time I have to deal with this issue, its with at&t or cricket, only one on verizon and this was a while ago.
Did you get this app off the market ? There suppose to scan stuff before it goes up to keep that from happening . If you got it off the net then that's how it happens .
Did you get this app off the market ? There suppose to scan stuff before it goes up to keep that from happening . If you got it off the net then that's how it happens .
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I was doing a lot of things to the phone that day. Also, just to review, the phone "crashed" (did some kind of fast boot) while using maps, and then immediately after the OS came back up, I got the three text messages telling me what my "valdiation code" was.
Amongst other activities I had been doing that day, I installed 3 apps:
VPN Connections (not downloaded from market, yes downloaded from the net)
2x Client for RDP / Remote Desktop
VPNC Widget
At the time of the crash I had already uninstalled the first one after I discovered the last one worked better for me.
None of these look like they require unusual permissions (like "Use Services That Cost You Money") that illogos mentioned above.
I actually still have the download of "VPN Connections" on my SDCard. I double clicked the apk again just to see what permissions it required, and it just said "Storage (modify/delete SD card contents)" and "Phone Calls (read phone state and identity)". I downloaded it from here, http://code.google.com/p/get-a-robot-vpnc/ , which doesn't look *that* sketchy. However it hasn't been updated since June 2010 and no longer appears in the app market, so clearly it was not going to be my first choice. I did run it, it did work; But, for the reasons above, I quickly replaced it once I found something equally functional that looked like it was better supported.
It is a credit card conformation from a half rate escort service called hoopty booty
jayshocka said:
It is a credit card conformation from a half rate escort service called hoopty booty
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You need to get a life dude
Yeah. I wasn't sure, but just in case, I decided not to use hoopty booty anymore.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
CNexus said:
You need to get a life dude
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Something about glass houses......
!!!!Donnie your out of your element!!!!!
Does anyone HATE Bixby as much as I do ? I really wish someone from Samsung would read this. I hate it when Microsoft uses the public to beta test software, but Samsung has gone WAY TOO FAR! If the software is not ready, don't implement it yet!
I've been a Note user since my Note 2. I've ALWAYS relied on S-Voice to do two major things for me. I know a lot of people didn't like it, but it's been very helpful for me. One is creating an appointment while I'm driving. The other is calling customers while I'm driving. I assume you see the 'driving' portion of my need. I need and want it to work TOTALLY HANDS FREE! I use a Motorola bluetooth on my ear during my waking hours. I use it to call Bixby. I WILL NEVER hold that stupid button to talk to my phone. Very stupid idea Samsung! I will never have Samsung, Google, Amazon, or anyone else listen to me talking (or singing horribly) all of the time waiting for that magic phrase. Never happening! Sorry. my wife listens too closely as it is. I don't need the cloud to listen to me too! I ***** and gripe a lot!
On my old Note 4, and through the different versions of S-Voice (none of them publicly released for that device ... only installed via ROOT), there have been problems, but its worked almost 95% of the time. Now that I paid $1000 for the new flagship phone, I'm finding myself unable to do the same things I've been doing on my Note 2, Note 3, and Note 4 devices for the past five plus years. Since obviously I've had it more than 14 days, I can't return it.
Bixby DOES NOT work handsfree. Neither does Google Assistant either. But S-Voice actually did! Saying commands to Bixby like these produce very odd results. They worked perfectly with S-Voice.
"Create an appointment Joe Smith at 8am tomorrow morning" ... with Bixby, it will be named something like "APPOINTMENT JOE", but most likely it will be set to 8 o'clock TODAY and not TOMORROW! Sometimes it doesn't even pick up the time and it's set for 12 Noon! It also DOES NOT repeat your request, like S-Voice did. I have no idea while I'm driving if it got anything correct. So far, I've LOST a half dozen appointments because I don't know where, when, or even if they were saved. They disappeared after confirming for it to be saved. If it does get saved, it's almost always incorrect and I have to manually edit it.
Now I've tried the way they recommend making an appointment, by saying to open calendar ... blah blah ... but that doesn't work either. It stops to ask "what would you like to name this event?" ... well, you reply and it stops. So much for handsfree. I have to reach for my phone to complete creating an event, something so basic is beyond Samsung's Bixby.
This one really gets me riled up! When I say "Call Teresa Adams", sometimes it will pick up the contact correctly, but a majority of the time it won't. It thinks I said "Theresa" instead of "Teresa". The same thing happens with a lot of other names, like "Bird" instead of "Byrd", "Smith" instead of "Smyth". Or "Jon" instead of "John". It cannot find the contact to call ... meaning it's not longer handsfree. I have to pick up my phone to make a phone call while driving. In some states, it's illegal to even HOLD your phone while driving! These are only a few of the issues I've seen with Bixby. But the inconsistency of pulling names from your contacts is HIGHLY FRUSTRATING!
Another one that burns me up ... this happens for totally unknown reasons. I'll ask Bixby to do something, and the reply I get is just totally off the wall. It will come up and tell me I have to install UBER to do that. WHAT THE HELL? I don't need UBER for ANYTHING!
I had to rename my wife's contact. I guess have too many names with 'Teresa' along with a last name, It NEVER called the right one. It would find five other names (and not all were Theresa or Teresa). So I've rename her contact to 'THE WIFE', and yet ... a few weeks ago, I asked Bixby to call 'THE WIFE' and it dialed my neighbor 'Peewee' instead. He got a great chuckle out of the fact that my Note 8 thinks he's my wife. I find it disturbing it can't even do the VERY BASICS. If Bixby was my true personal assistant on the job. they would be fired instantly and shown the door.
What have I done to remedy this issue for myself? You're not going to believe it, but I still carry my Note 4 (with Verizon service) and use it to do the stuff my new and expensive Note 8 cannot handle. I use my Note 8 as my business phone, but Bixby is useless for me. I don't want my so called assistant to pull up photos I took last week based upon some request. That stuff I should do with it in my hands.
NOTE TO DEVELOPERS OF ALL ASSISTANT APPS:
1. Must be able to function COMPLETELY HANDS FREE using bluetooth.
2. Must be able to respond with audible prompts and continue the process after an answer has been given.
3. Must verify and read back the information received correctly BEFORE saving the event (or calling the number selected)
4. Must be able to save a calendar appointment/event WITHOUT asking which app to use to save it. (this is a Google Assistant issue more than Bixby). As far as I can tell ... ALL CALENDAR APPS access the SAME CALENDARS! Duh! Why ask? Bixby wants to save to the Samsung calendar, but that can be changed and it will remember which calendar to save the requested event (and future requests). It should ask which calendar to save it to ONLY once, and use that as a default.
5. If you're going to release a REPLACEMENT software program, at least make sure it's CAPABLE of doing what the previous version could do first.
I've ranted long enough ... but haven't said all there is. I find it sad that I have to carry around my 4 year old device to do something so basic that my new expensive device cannot do without being coddled into doing my bidding. I refuse to switch to another device. If I wasn't locked in, I'd go back to using the Note 4 and never give Samsung my money again.
Whew ... I feel a little better, but I know I'm only blowing off steam. No one who reads this will be able to change anything. So I'm stuck carrying around two devices for now to do the basic stuff I've been doing for the past five years. Feels like we're moving backwards, doesn't it?