Develop Bugs

Importing Phone Contacts to Desire

Hi
Just discovered this excellent forum.
What a difference 4 years makes, have gone from a 2006 Sony Erickson W810 walkman phone to this and its just a little bit different shall we say.
I'm still playing with it. trying to get it set up etc. Have tried to bluetooth across my phone contacts from the Sony (before the number transfer takes place on 6 April) and message comes up saying that the Desire is awaiting 'acceptance of the transfer). Symbols have appeared on the top of the Desire.
Where do i go to accept the contact list transfer?
Any other 'top tips' woulod be greatly appreciated.
Can you also watch 'live' TV i.e. Sky sports through the Sky player.
I read on UK hot deals forum how to speed up the 3G, this seems to be working.
Other probably stupid questions:
On a PC you would set up a firewall, virus protection for the internet etc. Do you not have to do this when accessing the net via a phone? What happens with span, hackers etc if you accidentially access 'dodgy sites' shall we say.
Have to say loading apps looks a little complicated for the novice, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I think I can address a couple of issues, just not the BT issue.
Live TV?
Well, I don't think there's an app for live TV (at least here in the UK). However a site which broadcasts live TV (probably requiring Flash) may work. Though Flash is known not to work great yet so don't get your hopes up. Would love to be wrong on this point though. I saw a friend in Sweden watch live TV on his iPhone with a station specific app, over wifi. Was kinda cool!
No idea what you're talking about with speeding up 3G. Maybe you can share...
Virus/firewall protection?
Ah yes, that old nut. I'm guessing that they break down into 2 groups, one's that scan constantly and one's that scan occasionally. The 1st offers highest protection but requires highest resources and thus few people will use it on mobile devices. The 2nd is more possible and is available.
But then you have the issue of risk. Many argue, in short, there's not enough risk (even though malicious software does exist). There's not enough devices to make it worthwhile (the same arguements of why Macs don't have so many viruses) and even if there are millions of devices running the same software, the proportion of people that have stuff that is worth stealing puts the value even lower.
I'm sure when mobile devices are more integrated, more powerful (though running Google Earth on my desktop a few years back was hard enough, so to see it on my Desire...!) and when they hold/access more valuable data (i.e. more mobile banking and passwords on mobile devices), then the risk will no doubt also increase.

TV Catchup is the place for live tv. like its been said not sure of with the flash as my desire is on charge and i havent tried it yet.
if your old phone can sync contacts to outlook then do that and save the contacts as a csv file.
then go to google mail and import the .csv file
Thats the theory that worked for me. Your best bet is to google search the rest

HTC Desire v HTC HD2

Hi
I'm expecting delivery of T-Mobile HTC Desire soon.
I have chosen this phone over HTC HD2 on a 7 day trial basis.
I know of the issue concerning bluetooth voice dialing on android phones and I am prepared to accept that there might or might not be a solution eventually.
I am a user of Thunderbird and use a program called Birdiesync for use with Windows Mobile phones. It just works 100%.
It seems to sync Thunderbird calendar and email will be fine on Desire, but I'm not so sure about thunderbird and contacts. For me most of my 500 contacts have postal addresses which are important to me, whereas only a small % have email addresses. It seems Thunderbird and Google contacts are handled differently and the few Thunderbird addons that exist for this issue are not 100%. Certainly when it comes to maintaining the structure of postal addresses.
Lastly I use a piece of software called SKScheMa 1.2.17 on Windows Mobile. This allows me to create a script that turns on bluetooth when phone is on charge and turns it off when phone taken off charge. I like this because when I get out of my car and go to a customers front door I don't want the phone still connected to the car bluetooth system. this software handles this for me. QUESTION: Does juicedefender handle this or can anyone else suggest another app.
It seems I am expected to give up quite a lot of functionability to move over to the Android platform, but I do believe it is/will be the OS of choice in the future.
Feedback and help would be most gratefuly received.

You almost always lose functionality when you move from Winmo, but you gain a nice interface and more fun apps. Eventually android will cover the short fall, it just depends how long you can wait.
The issue with the Desire v HD2 is not just software though. As nice as the AMOLED on the Desire is, the size of the HD2 is compelling. There really is no contest for picture and movie viewing. Some like the saturation level on AMOLED screens, but its much less natural than the LCD on the HD2, its just over saturated. Its not such a big deal on a phone i guess, but some pictures and videos do look quite wrong. I put both through a calibration using the gear i had for my Plasma and i can tell you the blacks on the AMOLED are great, but the colours are WAY WAY off. The HD2 is much better despite only being 65k colours.

Yeah
I'm not too sure if Android is for me to be honest.
I am fed up with poor battery life on every single Winmo phone I have ever owned. I use about 1500mins of tak per month. I really do need MS Voice Command, couldn't care less about playing mp3's watching vids etc. I like to be able to surf net and send and recieve emails. Because of my usage i will always be offered top spec phone for free. I just fancied a change, but even prior to delivery I may have to accept the fact that this latest phone is gonna have to be yet another HTC winmo phone that comes with an old platform, poor battery life etc. I may just need to wait another 18 months of contract before moving over to Android. I'm not too sure what winmo 7 will bring or lack or even if it will be available from here for the HD2
Although I am yet to get the Desire in my hands, it seems everything about the OS is a workaround to get the most basic of features working in a fashion that I am used to. The ability to sync contacts/email and calendar should just work. I just don't get it! Perhaps thunderbird is the problem, but I am not prepared to use Outlook. I use portable thunderbird on my main drive, and this allows you to copy the whole thin over onto a USB stick and use anywhere if required. hats just not possible with Outlook.

The HD2 is a great phone if you want compatibility with Office apps and the like. The screen is awesome and (if you use a custom ROM) bettery life is more than acceptable (2 days with moderate use).
BUT the Desire is a better all round phone out the box. I had to cook my own ROM to get my HD2 how I wanted it. I've not touched a thing on the Desire since I got it.

Perhaps you can help me then.
I really would love to be able to have bluetooth on when unit is on charge and off when not. Does anyone know of an app that does it. Does Juicedefender?
Whilst I may not have to meddle with the Desire it just might be beacuse nothing I want it to do for me is actually available.
1. No bluetooth handsfree voice dialing
2. No apparant flawless syncing between Thunderbird and Android platform
3. No bluetooth on when on charge and off when disconnected.
Whilst I fully understand my requirements may not be on the forefront of many mainstream users, they are hardly so obscure to be not available.
I just don't get it. I know the Android platform is the future, but perhaps for me I need to wait.
I'll give it the 7 days and see if the experience is so great that I'm prepared to give up the proper functionability I have come to expect from a phone.

I had the same dilema... HD2 or Desire..
I've got the Desire but it's going back to orange today... Don't get me wrong it's a good phone but the main things I use my phone for just don't work as well as in my winmo diamond... so, i'm getting the HD2 - I stream a lot of video/mp3s with myplayer, skyfire (tvactchup) and also use fpsece a lot on my diamond but the experience i've had with video streaming on the desire is'nt great.. I know they'll get it right when Full Flash is released later in the year (10.1? is it?) but I'm a bit impatient and I can't wait till then.
I've also tried Xdandroid on my diamond and although it's not perfect I should be able to run Android on my winmo device anyway - so that's made my mind up.

I've had my HD2 for about 6 weeks now, and I'm fed up with it. I have loads of issues with it, but the big ones are:
- Constantly crashes (dialer app mainly - I've tried various ROMS with no luck)
- On screen keyboard is useless
- Internet links impossible to hit cleanly every time, even when zoomed in.
- Smooth scrolling of menus/web pages is impossible
- Lack of a proper "App Store"
- No upgrade path to Win Phone 7
- Confused, counter intuitive UI layout (Window's fault)
- Phone is so large its difficult to hold/operate with one hand.
My wife took delivery of her Desire yesterday, and I'm jealous, although it has reminded me that the HD2 has a lovely *big* screen in comparison.
Desire first impressions:
- On screen keyboard is a delight to use
- Internet links are easy to click
- Nice smooth menu action
- Well thought out, intuitive UI
- Sits nicely in the palm, easy to use one handed

In terms of battery life no smart phone is especially good. I dont think you really lose or gain anything by switching to another OS if the hardware spec is basically the same.

Get both! haha
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalkp

Lyrrad said:
Perhaps you can help me then.
I really would love to be able to have bluetooth on when unit is on charge and off when not. Does anyone know of an app that does it. Does Juicedefender?
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I'm pretty sure that Locale does this on the market, and I believe there are plenty of others too but I can't remember off the top of my head.
I would never go back to WinMo even if someone gave me the latest handset.

ritdaw said:
I'm pretty sure that Locale does this on the market, and I believe there are plenty of others too but I can't remember off the top of my head.
I would never go back to WinMo even if someone gave me the latest handset.
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Okay I have also been told that Tasker does it too.
Now I need to be convinced about syncing with Thunderbird properly. Calendar seems fine, and email is easy for me. It's just how contacts are handled. I use postal addresses a lot and I pride myself on the fact that I have over 600 records all properly set out below.
Address
City
State
Postal Code
Home Tel
Mobile Tel
Work Tel
Very few of them have an email address.
Android/Google seems to require an email address so all of my contacts now seem to require a bogus email. That's ok, but Google also seem to want to handle the address more a a note than anything else, and it does not seem to look nice on my PC. How it looks on my phone will be the make or breaking point for me.

I personally like the desire over the HD2, the one thing that annyoed me about the HD2 was the screen problems and having to keep on sending it back to HTC until you finally got one that worked.
Apart from that the wm6.5 and the phone itself was spot on, the HTC Desire on the other hand has not been rooted yet but is damn fast, if not faster than the bulky WM. The only down side to the desire for me are the keys at the bottom of the device.

Lyrrad said:
Android/Google seems to require an email address so all of my contacts now seem to require a bogus email. That's ok, but Google also seem to want to handle the address more a a note than anything else, and it does not seem to look nice on my PC. How it looks on my phone will be the make or breaking point for me.
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Click to collapse
A large number of my contacts just have phone numbers and no email addresses. I tried creating a new contact with just a name and it work. Am I miss-understanding what you are trying to do?
Also setting profiles lite/pro probably handles the disabling and enabling of bluetooth.

ritdaw said:
A large number of my contacts just have phone numbers and no email addresses. I tried creating a new contact with just a name and it work. Am I miss-understanding what you are trying to do?
Also setting profiles lite/pro probably handles the disabling and enabling of bluetooth.
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I'm not too sure if this is a Thunderbird issue. I use thunderbird over Outlook because you can instaal Portable Thunderbird onto your hard drive rather than a USB drive. Portable thunderbird by it's very nature does not install anything into your registery. Therefore it is possible to copy it in it in full at any given time on to a USB stick and then you are walking around with all of your details to be used plugged into any PC. I suppose if I were to really sit down and think about this option it may well be redundant if I am prepared to use Google. However my way of thinking at the moment is to use google as nothing more than a server between my Android phone and my email client.
All I know is that the Thunderbird addons do not seem to be flawless.
I need to get the phone and experiment.
I really would like it to work.
No Voice Command or anything that offere bluetooth handsfree voice dialling was all I thought I was giving up by moving to Android. However that may not be the case.

UK WP7 Users

Ok, so I have seen people complaining from all over the globe as to what problems they've encountered and also people talking about what they like.
Now I would like the perspective of a UK user about any gripes or pleasantries that they have with this new phone OS.
With that I mean even the most minute of details lol.
I'm in the UK and i'm considering WP7 for information purposes.

It works exactly the same as it does in the US.
The only thing we don't get is the 10 credits per month for Zune Pass. It's purely rental only you don't get to keep any of the music once you stop paying. Think Spotify but cheaper and actual physically downloading files and you've got it.

So how about bing maps, how do you find it?

Bing maps is absolutely fine in the UK, note that ATM it does not include turn by turn with voice guidance, nor does it have frills like googles streetview, but as a map app it does the trick.

yea i can say the same for australia. sure there isn't any POI (maybe they could utilise facebook places? come on MS, wise up ), but still, it works fine for me. people like the look of the maps when i show them, how it fuzzy and then comes into display, rather than blocks appearing (like Google). though, with Google's new maps being capable of offline storage due to vector graphs instead of bitmaps, they will be able to do a lot more.

It works pretty well the only thing it's missing over Google Maps on Android is Turn by Turn and Streetview.
It'll find most places, even if you were to type in Tesco you'd see the nearest supermarkets.

It's been great for me.
Very easy to use and it's so smooth. I upgraded from a Touch HD and the difference is staggering.
Marketplace and Zune are both great.
Bing maps i've had absolutely no problems with. Would be nice in a future update to get the OS view that you get on bing maps desktop.

kappo78 said:
Ok, so I have seen people complaining from all over the globe as to what problems they've encountered and also people talking about what they like.
Now I would like the perspective of a UK user about any gripes or pleasantries that they have with this new phone OS.
With that I mean even the most minute of details lol.
I'm in the UK and i'm considering WP7 for information purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i got the samsung omnia 7 from orange and am very pleased with it. if you go with orange they have their own Orange maps which is turn by turn using voice. bings maps itself is very cool.

Is anyone juggling both Android and WP7?

I'm asking since I'm gonna be picking up a Dell Venue Pro (again) I been using Android for a while and I enjoy it. The thing I love the most is the integration with gmail and calendars. Being able to open my calendar on my Macbook and for it to automatically update my calendar on my Droid Pro is convenient. From what I remember, WP7 should sync up the calendar with your gmail account but I'm wondering if theres anyone out there that is able to balance using both phones? For example, I want to be able to write down notes on one phone and for somehow that carry over to my Dell Venue Pro. There was a program called AK Notepad for Android and whatever notes I'd write down on my Droid Pro, I'd be able to access on my Nexus One.

I still carry around my Nexus One without SIM...just because Android allows me to do many things I still cannot with my Optimus 7... so for now, at least until Mango update, I will be carrying two phones.

I have several android devices to play with but still carry my surround as my every day phone. I like both. As to having full cloud based sharing on multiple platforms? I don't think they play that nice quite yet

MO3iusONE said:
For example, I want to be able to write down notes on one phone and for somehow that carry over to my Dell Venue Pro. There was a program called AK Notepad for Android and whatever notes I'd write down on my Droid Pro, I'd be able to access on my Nexus One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently Evernote (http://www.evernote.com/) is almost ready for Windows Phone 7, which should allow you to create/access notes on pretty much every platform out there.

Try using cloud based apps. It's pretty easy between iPhone and Android, or Android and Android.
It's not that easy with WP7 because we don't have too many apps right now. Looking forward to it!

Juggling between a samsung focus and hopefully in a few hours a galaxy s2. Until mango, the galaxy s2 will be my main phone tho

I have both.
Actually the fact that many users use both speaks for itself....
Anyway I have both of them and ditched WP7 because carrying two devices to do the same thing is kinda nonsense.
There's nothing WP7 does Android can't do
However there are tons of things Android does while WP7 just can't.
WP7 may be very appealing in some scenarios.

Just write your notes in the gmail calendar and sync it on both devices, that's what I do, works like a charm.
/J

jontatas said:
Just write your notes in the gmail calendar and sync it on both devices, that's what I do, works like a charm.
/J
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Click to collapse
That's actually so simple.
Plus on Android you can send to calendar notes from Note Everything

I also have my wildfire without sim and my htc trophy. I don't now if i will keep the trophy. I am giving it some time to convince me. I am carrying 2 phones for now. One of the most annoying things in windows phone 7 is that the wifi sleeps when the screen is off, so nothing that syncs (gmail, gtalk, calendar, etc)...syncs! Microsoft says its "by design", well i don't like it. Maybe after the Mango update.

aposva said:
One of the most annoying things in windows phone 7 is that the wifi sleeps when the screen is off, so nothing that syncs (gmail, gtalk, calendar, etc)...syncs! Microsoft says its "by design", well i don't like it. Maybe after the Mango update.
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I'm not a big wifi user but the same thing happens with bluetooth and it's so disgustingly annoying!! I will be streaming music to my car radio using bluetooth and when a song ends while the screen is off, the phone will automatically disconnect the bluetooth connection and I have to go back to settings and reconnect it and why is bluetooth always searching and discoverable??? What, they couldn't add another slider to switch discovery mode on and off so I don't have to see 50 headsets on my list??
I'm not a power user so i don't need all the fancy stuff Android can do. WP7 is great for me as I mainly use exchange and office, but it's the stupid little details that get you frustrated!

PG2G said:
Apparently Evernote (http://www.evernote.com/) is almost ready for Windows Phone 7, which should allow you to create/access notes on pretty much every platform out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OneNote Exists for WP7 and you can view it in a browser. EverNote has too many restrictions for how much data you can transfer, and it requires yet another account creation (ugh!).
Android phones usually come with a memo app (my Vibrant has it), and they typically allow you to send notes via SMS/MMS, Email, etc.

I carry both an HD7 and a Vibrant with Active SIMs in them everywhere. I put my Unlimited Data SIM in my HD7 when I got it because of Zune Pass, but I'm about to switch it back to my Vibrant.
Audio Quality on the Vibrant is 200% better than on the HD7. You basically need headsets with the HD7. The Vibrant's sound can fill a decent sized room. Call and Speaker Phone quality ... the comparison is the same. Vibrant is wildly superior. It's like comparing a surround sound system to a pocket radio...
The HD7 is useless as a phone comapred to the Vibrant. The signal is consistently 2 bars lower and call quality is more volatile. I feel like I'm in the middle of New York on an AT&T iPhone 4 when I'm on the HD7. The Vibrant performs flawlessly.
The HD7 is only useful as a PMP IF you have a decent pair of headsets or a BT Jabra device with FM transmitter in your car (like I do).
The terrible speaker and cell radio in this thing is already enough to relegate it to backup status, but there is the issue of Apps and Services integration.
Android has better apps. After heavy use of both phones. The Android versions perform better and are more stable as well. Twitter for WP7 (even Birdsong) and Twitter for Android... the Android version runs circles around it. Same for Facebook. LinkedIn doesn't exist for WP7.
No decent IM Applications. Half-baked MMS. Can't send Videos off the device via MMS or Email.
A phone can be made better (maybe the DVP has better speakers than the HD7, and a better radio with better data speeds and call quality), but the OS is half-baked and puts way too many limitations on what you, or any app can do. This means there is a definite roadblock IRT functionality that anyone can hit on WP7 that isn't possible on some other platforms.
In addition to that, there are a ton of applications that are missing from the market, and those that are coming (that matter) won't be here for another 6 months or so.
If I was "upgrading" from a dumb/feature phone it probably wouldn't be an issue. But coming from WM/Android/WebOS and having used iPhones more than enough... It's unacceptable as a daily driver.
It has all the detriments of an AT&T iPhone in New York (poor reception/call quality/wildly flunctuating signal strength that never goes above 3 bars even standing under a 3G tower) with none of the benefits (High Quality Apps, Services Integration, Top Apps). In addition to that, the Audio Quality makes it hit and miss even as a ZuneHD replacement, and the Codec Support is just not cute compared to something like a Galaxy S device. There is no DLNA capability, either. Battery Life is not better than an iOS/Android device, so that's not an advantage.
Disclaimer: Some of these issues (in particular the reception/call quality problems) may be an issue with the phone and not the OS itself - but T-Mobile only sells one WP7 device in carrier stores so take that for what it's worth. One other person I know has an HD7 and when I asked him how he likes it he responded (I'm quoting him word for work...) "The call quality is ****, but it's okay I guess." So I'm pretty sure it's not due to having a lemon device

crav4speed said:
I'm not a big wifi user but the same thing happens with bluetooth and it's so disgustingly annoying!! I will be streaming music to my car radio using bluetooth and when a song ends while the screen is off, the phone will automatically disconnect the bluetooth connection and I have to go back to settings and reconnect it and why is bluetooth always searching and discoverable??? What, they couldn't add another slider to switch discovery mode on and off so I don't have to see 50 headsets on my list??
I'm not a power user so i don't need all the fancy stuff Android can do. WP7 is great for me as I mainly use exchange and office, but it's the stupid little details that get you frustrated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use BT much but I understand the frustration, however the entire platform has been launched under the premise that it's not static or even completed as far as I understand. And given the track record of how MS usually deliver products (a main product and then many "hotfixes" and service packs) I expect most of these small things will be fixed in time.
Still annoying that they manage to miss such apparent things.
/J

aposva said:
I also have my wildfire without sim and my htc trophy. I don't now if i will keep the trophy. I am giving it some time to convince me. I am carrying 2 phones for now. One of the most annoying things in windows phone 7 is that the wifi sleeps when the screen is off, so nothing that syncs (gmail, gtalk, calendar, etc)...syncs! Microsoft says its "by design", well i don't like it. Maybe after the Mango update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android does this as well, that's why some applications (like Trillian for Andorid) have a setting to keep WiFi on when the phone sleeps.
I actually prefer it that way. If the phone is charging the WiFi stays on, however. They do it to conserve battery life, and that was a good decision...

N8ter said:
Android does this as well, that's why some applications (like Trillian for Andorid) have a setting to keep WiFi on when the phone sleeps.
I actually prefer it that way. If the phone is charging the WiFi stays on, however. They do it to conserve battery life, and that was a good decision...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click Wi-Fi Settings, Menu button and go to advanced, change your policy to never sleep, hit menu again and save.

I know that. I was pointing out the default behavior, though

N8ter said:
I know that. I was pointing out the default behavior, though
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Well atleast the option is there unlike in Microfot's product.
BTW, in the areas where you might have a weak cellular data signal havung your phone connected to a Wi-Fi access point is morr power efficient netting better battery life.

Kind of surprised at the number of people with dual phones. I have a Surround and an Inspire 4G. Before I upgraded to Gingerbread, the Inspire 4G was just so damned choppy, I couldn't really use it for long before I was ready to throw it. Now, it is my primary phone. My Surround has so-so build quality and much more limited functionality. I certainly wish for turn-by-turn directions via Bing maps. NoDo has made it much more fun to use as a communication tool with C&P, and it's smooth as can be. If my work would get the Exchange server up and running instead of using a third party host, I could see it being my primary phone. Until then, its all Android.

lqaddict said:
Well atleast the option is there unlike in Microfot's product.
BTW, in the areas where you might have a weak cellular data signal havung your phone connected to a Wi-Fi access point is morr power efficient netting better battery life.
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Click to collapse
with an HD7 that would be everywhere, becuase the radio is so terrible it can never go above 3 bars even if I'm standing under an HSPA+ radio. My Vibrant's radio is 100% better.
I cannot use the HD7 as a phone, it's just too terrible. I only use it to play music these days and after I ETF one of these lines in a month or two I'll probably think hard about getting rid of it - probably just enough to cover the ETF fee, of a bit less than that...

Cloud Computing is not optional

Back in 2003, I came across a feature quietly tucked away in a service pack update I got for Win XP. They called it Microsoft Groove. It was a means of storing info online in case it was too big to send,you could upload pretty much anything(contacts,folders,etc.) and access the info remotely from any internet enabled computer in the world. Thanks but no thanks, I thought. My info, and that of others, is my responsibility to administrate.
Cut to 2012, now the contacts I had synchronised with Outlook back then,were associated with my Windows live account, which saved them online "as a backup". I cant sync contacts directly with my PC, now the info goes straight to the cloud platform. The cloud storage is the common meeting point for my devices, for years you could not take files directly from your 'high-tech' WP7 device and put them in your PC, you were ushered into the cloud computing framework and convinced that the whole thing was your idea all along. Real control over personal information is synonimous with older devices, the more advanced and current your device is,the less control you get over info. Sounds like a lame trade-off to me.

Vukile said:
Back in 2003, I came across a feature quietly tucked away in a service pack update I got for Win XP. They called it Microsoft Groove. It was a means of storing info online in case it was too big to send,you could upload pretty much anything(contacts,folders,etc.) and access the info remotely from any internet enabled computer in the world. Thanks but no thanks, I thought. My info, and that of others, is my responsibility to administrate.
Cut to 2012, now the contacts I had synchronised with Outlook back then,were associated with my Windows live account, which saved them online "as a backup". I cant sync contacts directly with my PC, now the info goes straight to the cloud platform. The cloud storage is the common meeting point for my devices, for years you could not take files directly from your 'high-tech' WP7 device and put them in your PC, you were ushered into the cloud computing framework and convinced that the whole thing was your idea all along. Real control over personal information is synonimous with older devices, the more advanced and current your device is,the less control you get over info. Sounds like a lame trade-off to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many years ago I came across a little used feature called email, all sounded a bit "fantastical" to me at the time, I mean, we had pens, we had paper, letter boxes in every home, if we all sat around typing on monochrome screens our eyes would bleed, we'd get radiation burns and we'd all forget how to write and besides, it hadn't been THAT long since telegrams were sent on mass, and interestingly they would still have been a bigger user base for that too compared to "email"
needless to say we didn't all go blind or forget how to write (although that at least is partially debatable!) and now we send these fandangled electronic letters everywhere instead, so much so in fact, our postal service is just about broke.
I do hear what you are saying, but this IS the world we live in, we need to move with it an to be perfectly honest, the cloud has saved my bacon more than once, in situations that a direct sync with a computer would have been as useful as a chocolate teapot.
im curious
what is it that you don't like about cloud? is there any actual reason other than the "idea" of dumping your stuff on a third party service that can arguably can look after your data in a much more secure location than a home computer

I happen to like having full control of what goes in and out of my device. I dont live too far from the beach,but I rarely go. The idea of not having that option anymore would drive me over the edge, its as logical as having a pool at your house. My rant was spurred on by an article that suggested that our devices would merely be shells. Remember when gmail crashed a while back, or RIM, Facebook,Twitter,etc.? Bothered the hell out of me. If Im likely to fall prey to that again,I should at least be able to keep operating independently of those vices, otherwise my phone will turn into an overpriced flashlight.

Vukile said:
I happen to like having full control of what goes in and out of my device. I dont live too far from the beach,but I rarely go. The idea of not having that option anymore would drive me over the edge, its as logical as having a pool at your house. My rant was spurred on by an article that suggested that our devices would merely be shells. Remember when gmail crashed a while back, or RIM, Facebook,Twitter,etc.? Bothered the hell out of me. If Im likely to fall prey to that again,I should at least be able to keep operating independently of those vices, otherwise my phone will turn into an overpriced flashlight.
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and yet, the flip side to that coin is that, yes you could sync directly to your computer to stay in "control" but should the server go down you still wont get your email in either case. If my server goes down my device keeps the contacts on it, it keeps the emails going back as far as I tell it too, I do not need to have the a connection to the server other than to get new data, which would screw both methods if that were to happen.
The other thing is that whilst direct syncing has benefits to some degree although personally I don't notice the difference any more as I cant even remember the last time I fired up outlook... anyhow, yes you can sync, but lets say you were on the beach and your phone goes tits up, I bet I can reset and be synced before you got off the beach unless the server is down in which case yes you could sync all your old data but your just as stuck for anything new as I would be, of course my other email account would be able to sync its contacts, so that would have to go down too, or perhaps the whole network stops...and wifi,,,
I do see what your saying, I used to think the same until I actually stood back and looked at it objectively, I asked myself some honest questions and added a second layer of redundancy by having my live and gmail accounts sync contacts and calendar info periodically. There really is only so much you can do and the benefits of cloud storage for me far out weigh the downsides.
Sorry my friend, but one way or another, direct syncing like the good old days is a relic of a time that's soon to be forgotten

I get you,dazza,really. My point is, though, that if theres a loss or unavailability of data, I want to be 100% responsible. I dread the day when I have to periodically look at a notification that says "Our technicians are working on it". This crap has gone down with every major cloud computing service or derivative since the innovation was thrust upon the masses. I just want my phone back,man. Screw the innovations, let me take my under-utilised hardware and be on my way.

Vukile said:
I get you,dazza,really. My point is, though, that if theres a loss or unavailability of data, I want to be 100% responsible. I dread the day when I have to periodically look at a notification that says "Our technicians are working on it". This crap has gone down with every major cloud computing service or derivative since the innovation was thrust upon the masses. I just want my phone back,man. Screw the innovations, let me take my under-utilised hardware and be on my way.
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rip pimp c

I completely understand, but the reality is that is unlikely to come back, although I do see a future where the location of cloud can be changed, think along the lines of corporate domains with AD setup, companies may be ok with you taking work home an accessing via a phone but only on their terms, on their servers, if that were possible I could see a windows server extension to allow that, an thus potentially have it on a home server too... Maybe
Sent from my Samsung Focus S using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Vukile said:
I get you,dazza,really. My point is, though, that if theres a loss or unavailability of data, I want to be 100% responsible. I dread the day when I have to periodically look at a notification that says "Our technicians are working on it". This crap has gone down with every major cloud computing service or derivative since the innovation was thrust upon the masses. I just want my phone back,man. Screw the innovations, let me take my under-utilised hardware and be on my way.
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I used to feel the same way about print and electronic media. Think about it.

What I don't like is everything being dumbed down and the options being removed (Or made astronomically expensive) that used to exist before.
Microsoft has the technology (And the phone even supports it for corporates).
The fact is in terms of real usefulness palm os offline had far more innovative applications. (And didn't try to make everything moron proof).
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gentry33 said:
I used to feel the same way about print and electronic media. Think about it.
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Realistically the consumer should get outlook connectivity / lync / sharepoint / office 365 in a hosted manner not the dumbed down experience that we do get.
(Even the old activesync system was preferable in a lot of ways).

And yet dumbed down is exactly what people want, you are not not the target user
Sent from my Samsung Focus S using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

dazza9075 said:
And yet dumbed down is exactly what people want, you are not not the target user
Sent from my Samsung Focus S using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
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Schaps had the gameplan years ago, but we were too busy sleeping. Imma donate the hell out of itParticipate.
I fell for this this "We're not updating xxxxxxx device" crap afew times. I had an iMate Jam (largest selling PDA of its time) and I let it go because it was never gonna get a WM5 update. Nowadays, I see cats doing backflips and handstands with their WM6.5 iMate Jams like its the most natural thing in the world. When it comes to devices, N.E.R.D

You can still have a modern "PDA" and live completely off the "cloud", your data haphazardly fragmented across devices, if you really feel the need to live in the past. Ironically though, Microsoft is no longer the company that will provide you the platform with which to do so.

I wonder how many former HTC Leo owners wish they never listened to that. Btw, since starting this thread, I managed to achieve my goal. A little Chinese ingenuity here,a little Vietnamese there, a dollop of Russian app and add some Italian and Egyptian flair.... Tasty.

history is cyclical, that's how humanity progresses, we do learn mistakes from the past, but will find news ways to make it again. In XX years time, we might end up going back to individual storage again.