Best e-mail app, best browser? - Desire Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'm planning to switch from an iPhone over to the world of Android. The two things I use my phone for the most are e-mail and internet, so I wanted to know how good the internet and e-mail apps are, or if you prefer a third party option from the Market.
For example, is the HTC Mail app better than the Gmail one?
And, in general, how do you find browsing? I've used Android phones in the shops but you still can't beat the knowledge of someone who's lived with them!
Thanks

The browser is similar to the iPhone browser but I prefer dolphin hd from the market with its gestures. As for email my personal preference is gmail but HTC mail app is useful for exchange mail. You'll find that despite a few spec differences the desire is as good as the iPhone.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Be specific of what exact features need to exist to make it best for you
Otherwise, let the 1001 'personal best' eulogies commence!
-----------------------------------
- Sent via my HTC Desire -

Alright, well I personally don't like the Gmail mobile stuff. I prefer sometime like the Mail app on my iPhone - an app which will get and list e-mails and format them nicely with no hassle. I don't care about push, I use IMAP with automatic checking at 15 minute intervals at the moment and would be more than happy to keep doing that.
As for the browser, anything which shows pages well and dosen't lag badly is fine.
For both of those, I'd of course appreciate a nice UI, but of course that's subjective anyway
BTW, I'm going to be getting the Desire HD, not the Desire, but I thought owners of the current Desire were the best people to ask my questions to since the software of the two phones is pretty much the same.

Related

[Q] BBM for Androids? Maybe

Hello, Newbie to Android world here - receiving my HTC Desire, hopefully, next week.
Just wanted to share some information regarding an application called "LiveProfile" which will soon be released that incorporates BBM for Androids, if im not mistaken.
Anyone heard of it?
Just looked it up and from what I can see its a replacement for bbm. It will work across iPhone, blackberry and android. Basically MSN messenger for phones.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I've been using a BlackBerry for practically 2 years now and I have to say perhaps the only application that has the BB stand out among its rivals is the BlackBerry Messenger - now with LiveProfile, I'm very excited for the upcoming release of this app.
What's the advantage of this over WhatsApp or PingChat? Those are both multi-platform already, and with WhatsApp there's no need for a user name as it uses your phone number, so anyone in your contacts with the application is automatically in your friend list.
Yeah, why another one? ... PingChat is OK.
I know, competition is good.
But for this kind of app, I just want ONE ...
It seems impossible.
Wait until someone created multi of multi IM of multi IM ...
PingChat is a good one.
MJwitter: well, quite frankly, i believe there is one prime advantage over iphone's Whatsapp in terms of privacy. With "whatsapp" you do not necessarily have to have the contact on your list, just as long as he has your number he is able to send you msgs - which a lot of people would find annoying (you could probably ignore them, im not sure, but its a terrible feature initially)
gogol + lukehluke: i have never heard of ping chat before. i'll have to google it. However, as i have mentioned earlier i believe this application is intended to merge bbm, whatsapp and so on all under one roof - again I am uncertain of this information; however, hopefully this turns out to be the advantage of LiveProfile.
Nonetheless, thank you for sharing that information.
I just checked it out; however it seems to display an error when i clicked on "Join Now." Is this application not yet released?
there are quite a few BBM replacements available. They will never connect to BBM Contacts but provide the same functionality.
1. PingChat
2. Cnectd
3. LucidMessenger
4. Pmessenger
those are all i know of atm.
I'll try ping chat on HTC, just as soon as I get it by next week.
I heard about Pmessenger, but the reviews weren't very good.
Is WhatsApp ever coning out for android?, ive tried to convert a few people over to ping chat but they all use whatsapp
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I'm confused. Help me. What is the differences between pingchat,whatsapp and IM messenger such ebuddy, fringe, and nimbuzz?
LOL try to be patient, my friend.
Ive been trying to do that for the past 24 hrs too. fortunately, a few ppl installed it.
however,they dont need to "convert" to pingchat, ask them to install it and they could use both ;D
antu_pogroms said:
I'm confused. Help me. What is the differences between pingchat,whatsapp and IM messenger such ebuddy, fringe, and nimbuzz?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pingchat and Whatsapp? call themselves 'SMS Replacement' apps. Wherein they act like BBM so you can send a message whether a person is online or offline. These apps can only be used between their respective clients i.e. Pingchat-to-Pingchat, Whatsapp?-to-Whatsapp?
IM clients connect through AIM, MSN, Facebook &c.
Whatsapp Beta works. Google up Whatsapp android beta and youll find a download link on a facebook page. Install it and then you may get authorization error just wait like 1 day and try again and it will work. Been working well cant find any bugs with it yet.
I tried what you said but only info seems to say the beta is only available for people living in san fansisco and whatsapp put the app on your phone from there office?, cant seem to find a download link or apk file, if you have a link can you post it or reply to me with a pm to the link please, thanks.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Ok i found it
http://beta.whatsapp.com/WhatsApp.apk
It installs fine but doesnt seem to work as you need to register to be a beta tester.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
yea like i said install it it will fail just wait and try again tommorow and it will start working. lots of people have reported success after waiting a while
Cool, i'll update in a day or 2 if its working, did you email them to request to be a beta tester or just try it after a few days and it worked without emailing them?
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Didn't send an email
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Cool, its started working.
Ok, my quick review - pingchat vs whatsapp
Its alot faster than pingchat in terms of messages being delivered, sometimes pingchat lags a very long time and also pingtchat soelmetimes doesnt give notifications unless you open the app, so whatsapp wins on those two.
But pingchat has a MUCH better look and feet to it, and it works on phone numbers & ID's so you can use either, but whatsapp only works over phone numbers, so unless i have the persons phone number i cant message them on whatsapp, but on pingchat you can just use there id and dont need there phone number so pingchat wins on that.
So both have goods & bads, ping chat is free though which is a plus, if you check in the account info in the whatsapp beta, it says it expires in November 2010, so i asume thats when it goes live in the android marketplace, it also has an upgrade option so it will definatly be a paid app when its released and have a limeted free use period
More people use whatsapp so its better "at the moment", but pingchat has a much better feel to it, so hopfully more people start using pingchat.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Two devices - one google account?

I currently have an HTC Desire, and am SERIOUSLY considering getting a Motorola Xoom (WiFi Only) when they become available in the UK, and I just wondered:
I only have one Gmail account which I use on a regular basis, and this would be the one I would like to use on the Xoom (as well as still syncing with the Desire). Is this possible?
If I log in to another device with the same email address, am I able to re-download purchased apps again and run them on the Xoom?
For example, I have Beautiful Widgets running on my Desire, would I be able to download it for free on the Xoom?
I know this is not strictly a Desire question (nor is is a Xoom), but due to a lack of an "Android General" section, I thought I would ask in here - feel free to move if needed mods!
Stew
Hi,
Normally you can have any info tied to your google account synced with any device using android.
What you won't get in the xoom market app is a list of the currently installed apps that you have on the desire, but, as far as i know, you will be abel to download the apps you purchased with your desire.
You'll also be able to sync the contacts, calendar and mail(as long as you don't use pop3) on both devices.
You can have multiple devices on one account and everything will sync like normal.
with google authenticator you can have as many accounts as you want !!.. on what ever devices as you want !!
market.android.com seems to have support for multiple devices anyway
Yes, you can have multiple device for your Google account.
Here is my setup for me (Nexus S) and my wife (HTC Desire).
One Google account for buying apps ([email protected])
Two separate Gmail accounts for contacts ([email protected] and [email protected])
Works
StuMcBill said:
I currently have an HTC Desire, and am SERIOUSLY considering getting a Motorola Xoom (WiFi Only) when they become available in the UK, and I just wondered:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am thinking the same - but can't decide if it is going to be worth getting a Xoom or a Flyer...
Either way I want a wifi only one
I have a desire and a tab. Both using same google acct, great part is pay for app on one and you get it on other one too, no extra fee
Sent from my SCH-I800 using XDA App
I took the opposite line and registered separate gmail accounts for my Desire and a 7" tablet. Slightly different set of apps on the two devices and wasn't sure if the big G could tell that there were two. However, key apps like Touchdown seem to work fine with two syncs going on.
I had to pay for a couple of apps all over again but frankly the developers of the really good ones deserve the small amount it cost me.
Lothaen said:
I am thinking the same - but can't decide if it is going to be worth getting a Xoom or a Flyer...
Either way I want a wifi only one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I am now between the Xoom, LG Optimus Pad and Samsung 8.9" Galaxy Tab.
That Xoom Wifi for £450 is capturing my interest at the moment

What Instant Messenger Program (IM) Are You Using?

Just curious what all in one instant messenger app others are using. By all in one I mean it connects to Google Talk, AIM, and etc in one app. Im using imo instant messenger on my phone right now, looking to see if there is anything better.
Trillian
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
IMO - by far best messenger out there...
IMHO
I think it supports 8 different clients (all at once), its good on the battery, it doesnt get kicked out of memory if you're not using it...
I have used few different ones in the past but all had been flawed in one of those ways, this one isnt!
Also, there is a handy google chrome version which works like a charm.
I couldnt reccomend it more
Sent from my HTC Desire Z using XDA App
"Gadu-Gadu"
This is Polish Messenger. It's cool
I have installed Meebo. At the moment, good enough but I've seen from others IMHO quite popular.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Google Talk, Whatsapp and Nimbuzz. That about covers my needs. Google Talk is by far the one I prefer but not everyone I chat with is on there.
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
Whatsapp + Nimbuzz
Google Talk...and Google+ Messenger and Facebook Messenger...haven't really tried any others.
I suggest you to use IMO.im
maybe the fastest and smallest client
i like imo.im but it forcecloses when i multi task, currently using ebuddy again but it always disconnects and displays messages multiple times.
whatsapp, best by far!
never had any problems on any ROM
Imo! AMAZING app! Even the desktop version is great!
Sent from my HTC Vision
I went back to Trillian, imo was crashing and restarting too often. Love the features of imo though.
Wow, am I the only one that spent the 10 bucks on Beejive? LOL. Beejive worked great on the Blackberry, so I sprung for it, but it didn't seem to work as well on Android. So for a stretch it was all eBuddy for me, and then Imo.... But currently eBuddy and Imo seem to be having their quirks, so Beejive is working the best for me in terms of reliability and everything. Plus, I like the ui and customization options of Beejive the best. IM+ is nice too but seems to use more battery.
imo is the best
whatsapp. Seems to be the one that most of my contacts are using.
I use trillian mostly. The upside, clean, simple and organized layout. When sending a picture from my phone to somebody else, it uploads the photo to trillian and sends it as a link. Which I prefer more than sending because, when I'm talking to somebody who is at work or on a computer that blocks file sending, they can still view the photos without me having to upload it to an image hosting site such as flickr or tinypic. The downside? Well it seems to lag a bit. Sometimes it takes a few seconds for the message to send, while other times its instant. Fortunately, it let's you know when your message was sent or if it's loading. After you press send, your text turns grey in the IM box, once it's sent, it turns white. Also, you can't receive files on trillian. Atleast I haven't been able to.
This is where beejive comes in. I can send and receive files. It has a decent layout and messages seem to send quickly. I just don't like the popup box when typing... On beejive, instead of having a standard typing box, it has a popup bubble which pops up when you begin typing, which can be a pain when trying to paste something. Also, I've noticed many of my online contacts don't appear as online when using beejive. While on trillian, they do. Not sure what the problem is there.
The other universal messengers I've used don't support file transfer. That's a deal breaker for me. I've tried ebuddy, IM+ and IMO. I believe IMO says they support file transfer, but it wouldn't work for me. I don't remember.
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
eBuddy for battery life.
IMO for features.
What sucks is eBuddy doesn't autoselect the input field when you open HW keyboard - makes using it on the go a pain. And I've reported this to the devs repeatedly. So it's IMO now with text-only smileys - hate the green guys
Mercury IM Donate
Just one of the better apps for MSN.
Whatsapp crap is just draining my battery so i used it for one day.
I recently use beejive, it seems very stable and doesn't lose connection that for me is really important

[Q] Exchange email vs. HTC Sense email

Hey guys
I was wondering if anyone could give a quick comparison between Galaxy Nexus Exchange email and that of HTC Sense. Is it as good? Better? If you could have Sense email on your Gnex, would you use that instead?
I strongly dislike Sense, so I may not be the best candidate here. I came from a bunch of Moto phones, and then briefly used Touchwiz on a Stratosphere, so I can speak more to the Moto Exchange client and the Touchwiz one (which isn't stock Android, although it looked similar).
Early Moto clients were severely lacking, didn't have folder display options, couldn't search, etc. The current Android client in ICS is very good. Server-side search is there and works (you need E2k7 or 2010 for this to work, I don't think Exchange 2003 has server-side search). You can pick a folder to view, and set the sync amount for each folder individually (it's not clearly obvious that this is how it works, but it changeable on a per-folder basis). I usually take a month from my inbox, but I have a "save" folder that has important info and I like to sync the whole thing (it's only about 50-60 messages give or take). Moto wouldn't allow this on the Droid 2. I think the option may have shown up on the D3, but that phone had issues for many people with randomly dropping the "Push" option I believe.
The Sammy client on the Stratosphere was decent, but missing a few features that Moto added in D3. The Android client seems pretty thorough now - I don't feel like I'm missing anything at least, and it's really cool to finally have a standard UI between gmail and Exchange.
aeropilot said:
Hey guys
I was wondering if anyone could give a quick comparison between Galaxy Nexus Exchange email and that of HTC Sense. Is it as good? Better? If you could have Sense email on your Gnex, would you use that instead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm coming off a Thunderbolt and relied heavily on HTC Mail because of Exchange. I did prefer HTC Mail due to it's UI more than anything else. That was up to Gingerbread.
I'm happy to say that I won't be missing HTC Mail anytime soon. Stock Android Email client got a UI cleanup like most of the other core apps and does seem to look a lot more polished. It's not "GMail" polished but still vastly more polished than anything else of it's previous iterations.
I think it all comes down to what your functionality wishlist is. HTC Mail had those bottom button that were for quick filtering navs which I didn't really care for. To me, HTC Mail was something that ran off the Android Mail engine just with UI and a few more functionality attached on top of it.
If anything, on ICS Mail, GAL seems very fast when autocompleting contact names, you can still zoom on HTML emails, and has a few more functionality than it did on the pre-ICS builds. Again, really depends on what made you like HTC Mail over the other.
Stock email is much better than htc's version of it and with the 720p screen it makes reading content much better.

Best email app

For some reason I've never really liked the gmail app.. for the past year I've been using k9 email but I'm looking to switch it up. Anyone have good recommendations?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
Mail Droid has served me well. Decently robust and handles imap nicely.
Recently I came across aqua mail. This is an amazing app that I bought the very next day after using it for a day. (u don't need to buy it though it's fully functional without that).
Do give it a try, you'll love the awesome features in it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
Enhanced email works very well,very customizable and lots of extras
gubbilo144 said:
Enhanced email works very well,very customizable and lots of extras
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does work ok for ICS but I don't see the hyperlink in the email( it shows full path) anymore with JB rom.
♥★★♥ AT&T Galaxy Note II ♡☆☆♡
Guys, please give aqua mail a shot once...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
Aqua mail is great
This PSA was Swyped out on my Paranoid Note 2 N7100
This is the best. Try it out.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=34131668
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
My vote for Aqua Mail as well... HOWEVER, there is no great email client.
Installed aqua mail for about 2 mins until I saw it had no pinch to zoom feature. That alone wouldn't be so bad, but when HTML emails come through huge and you can't resize them to see without scrolling...that was a deal breaker. Gmail app works just fine for me
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
I found Aqua mail had some formatting issues on some email. The pictures would be Xed out or something. Plus it has no ability to connect Exchange accounts. I changed my email to using Gapps For Your Domain as per someone on here saying it was great and it is, only it's exchange email. Most free ones don't work with exchange so I'm back to default and Gmail. I would be totally willing to pay $3 to $5 for an awesome email client but there is no way I'm paying $20. There's two real good ones for $20 I believe.
check out Emoze
I had issues with weird behavior of the push and sync and I installed Emoze Push client which gives me the ability to push any type of email ,obviously Exchange and IMAP but even POP3 which is very limited email protocol.
I've done benchmarks with the stock ICS email client and with several third party clients like Touchdown, Moxier, K9 and I find that Emoze has the advantage in almost every aspect.
Push notification is stable and fast ,less than 60 sec.
Battery consumption is low ,I’m able to work in push mode without charging for 22 hours.
I’m quite a heavy email user so it was kind of a surprise to me because I used to have 6-8 hours max with only one account working in push.
I have 5 email accounts which is about 100-200 email per day so no kidding ,this one really improved my life ,I’m less paranoid about my battery.
Other features which are quit useful are the security options that allows you to find the device location by SMS or email
and also to remote wipe or block by SMS.
This is cool because you don’t need PC connected to the internet to get the job done ,you can simply send SMS to your phone number to activate the security process.
AquaMail - definitely!!
nemesis_9 said:
For some reason I've never really liked the gmail app.. for the past year I've been using k9 email but I'm looking to switch it up. Anyone have good recommendations?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't need exchange, AquaMail is definitely my recommendation. Also highly recommended buying the Pro key. The developer is FANTASTIC about implementing good suggestions as well as fixing reported bugs. Like you, I've been using K9 for quite some time and while I still have it installed and I keep updating the development versions, - and yes, I have to admit it's getting better and better - I never found reasons to ever go back to K9. AquaMail offers (common sense) options that K9 is still lacking: full screen - especially useful in landscape mode, far superior selection options as far as the email lists, much better menu icons selection & options, optimizations for low traffic data are merely a few examples of why you should try it. Once getting used to the rather extensive settings and customize it per your liking, you may also find your own reasons to stay with AquaMail. :good:
P.S AquaMail has its own page and forum - very informative and if you feel like contributing with suggestions or bugs, this is the place. Also here I found out that there were plans to eventually implement the exchange, however, Google's recent announcement to stop supporting exchange might change that.
Never experienced any pictures formatting issues or any other issues.

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