I've just upgraded to a Desire coming from a Touch HD (Dutty Holy Grail) and have to say that first impressions are not great. Seriously thinking about returning it but interested to hear other people's experience.
So far moaning about the following problems - well more inconveniences:
- keyboard too jumpy
- can't call contact directly from email
- no hardware button to end call - pain when leave a voice message as need to turn phone on, unlock it and then end call.
- double syncs everything (on exchange server) so that appointment entries appear twice in calendar
- the home screen apps are kind of useless as you basically need to launch the full app to be able to do anything (ie email or sms)
- sms messaging doesn't tell you how many letters you have left
- no messaging in facebook
- headphone volume quiet (and that's with in ear headphones where on my HD I had the volume set to 1!)
- battery life atrocious in comparison. charged my phone last night and had a full charge before going to bed and when I woke up it was at 30%. no wifi or bluetooth on.
Will persevere another few days to make sure that I'm not just a grumpy old fart who hates change....
Take it back then. And my sms shows how many letter i have left.
I'll answer some of your points because a few are valid.
Could you elaborate on calling from emails? You mean the phone picking up that you have a number stored for a contact and allowing you to dial them? I've tried this and it works. You need to be using the HTC mail client, not the Gmail one.
"no hardware button to end call - pain when leave a voice message as need to turn phone on, unlock it and then end call."
I couldn't reproduce this use case at all. Your screen locks while you're in a call? A SHORT call too? Or are you just positing a use case you THINK could happen? The screen goes blank when you raise it to your ear and turns back on when you take it away...what you describe can't happen.
If you've got double syncing then there's a configuration error. Elaborate. How did you set it up? Are you syncing with your work email or a webmail account?
The home screen "apps" are not apps, they're widgets, and function like every other widget I've ever seen, they just give info and limited functions. You wanted to send email FROM a widget?!
"sms messaging doesn't tell you how many letters you have left"
Mostly because text limits have all but disappeared. Does your provider still cap you? You should get a new provider.
Your device is still new...you need a few charging cycles to get the battery at full potential.
The other issues are pretty spot on...the keyboard I'm used to now though. Trust the predictive text.
Maxwell Smart said:
- can't call contact directly from email
- no hardware button to end call - pain when leave a voice message as need to turn phone on, unlock it and then end call.
- sms messaging doesn't tell you how many letters you have left
- no messaging in facebook
- headphone volume quiet (and that's with in ear headphones where on my HD I had the volume set to 1!)
- battery life atrocious in comparison. charged my phone last night and had a full charge before going to bed and when I woke up it was at 30%. no wifi or bluetooth on.
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1. I have never seen that feature before. Would definitely be handy.
2. That annoys me too, but I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it.
3. Use a replacement SMS app. Handcent is my favorite.
4. Blame Facebook for that. They won't allow it, even in their official app which is stupid.
5. Strange, I have the impression that the headphone volume is quite loud.
6. You might have an application running in the background which is draining the battery and keeping the phone awake. See related threads in this forum for more info.
keyboard - Like all keyboards, it takes time to get used to. Trust the autocomplete feature and you'll be surprised. Best soft keyboard I've ever used.
Yes, you can call directly from email. Just tap the sender and their contact card will open which includes the option to call them.
No hardware call buttons - It's an inconvenience but you knew they weren't there before you bought it.
Exchange sync issue - Maybe something with your settings? I have it synced with Google's Exchange server with no problems.
Widgets - Yes, I share your opinion on many of the widgets. You might as well just launch the main application. They are pretty to look at though...
SMS - Perhaps download a 3rd party SMS application?
Facebook - no comment. I don't use it.
Headphone volume - I read here that some carriers limit the max volume on their devices. Perhaps they did that to yours? My device's max volume is pretty deafening.
Battery life - If you read reviews, you'll know that battery life is not impressive. But do give it several charge cycles and sync your data as conservatively as possible. You might find the battery life to be acceptable.
ephumuris said:
Take it back then. And my sms shows how many letter i have left.
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OUCH! Headshot! Be gentle it;s a new device ...
... Ok moving on ...
Actually don't worry been beaten ...
Like I said, the keyboard issue is just that you will need time to get used to it.
If you have a contact saved with a number and email and they send you mail, you will see their picture in the corner...tap it. You will get a speech bubble type box pop up that has the option to phone them, send them a message (text or email) or go to their contact card. Make sure you've merged your contacts. It won't work if you have a separate contact card for their phone details and then another for their email.
Again...is SMS length an issue still for people? I've not thought about those arbitrary 140 character limits since my first Motorola Wings flip phone.
Compared to my HD2 the Desire's keyboard is a DREAM to use - HD2 was skitty as hell and all over the shop. Desire's never misses a key and can type a LOT quicker on it personally...
Never bothered to know number of characters left in an SMS, doesn't bother me
Battery life, with all sync options on default, is about 48hrs give or take an hour...
Double sync IS annoying but I don't sync with Google anymore so got rid of that...
Facebook app, don't care about messaging as my phone is to keep up-to-date, PC is to contact...
Not bothered about hardware key for end call, call ends when you press the BIG red button at the end of a call (don't need to unlock or anything first)
Headphones - don't use them as phone isn't a music player to me, it's a phone
1. Get used to it, you will be fine. I moved from HTC Kaiser with hardware keyboard and I found the HTC Desire virtual keyboard is very good and responsive.
2. No idea, but as several posts above, you actually can do it.
3. You should know this already before purchase.
4. No idea
5. Widget is nice, this is unique to Android. You dont have to use it if you dont like. Then put app shortcut in the home screen, typical winmo thingy.
6. Use other messaging client like Hancent
7. Blame Facebook Or use Nimbuzz / Fring!
8. Check your settings, my battery life is amazing, on moderate usage it could last more than 48 hours (this include several hours (2-3) a day browsing on WiFi and gaming).
Maxwell Smart said:
I've just upgraded to a Desire coming from a Touch HD (Dutty Holy Grail) and have to say that first impressions are not great. Seriously thinking about returning it but interested to hear other people's experience.
So far moaning about the following problems - well more inconveniences:
- keyboard too jumpy
- can't call contact directly from email
- no hardware button to end call - pain when leave a voice message as need to turn phone on, unlock it and then end call.
- double syncs everything (on exchange server) so that appointment entries appear twice in calendar
- the home screen apps are kind of useless as you basically need to launch the full app to be able to do anything (ie email or sms)
- sms messaging doesn't tell you how many letters you have left
- no messaging in facebook
- headphone volume quiet (and that's with in ear headphones where on my HD I had the volume set to 1!)
- battery life atrocious in comparison. charged my phone last night and had a full charge before going to bed and when I woke up it was at 30%. no wifi or bluetooth on.
Will persevere another few days to make sure that I'm not just a grumpy old fart who hates change....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RE: battery life
I charged mine to 100% last night, took it off charge at 1am, woke up at 8:20 am, checked my phone....98% !!
i use Juice Defender (one of my settings is to disable Apn/Wifi from midnight till 8am, works well
Thanks for the comments. Proves I'm a grumpy old fart! lol
Some good replies which I will investigate further.
Aitese - your comment about the screen going black and then turning back on when you remove it from your ear... is there a light sensor setting? as mine stays black until i tap power button unless i am talking to an actual person (rather than machine) and they hang up first.
Syncing is being done with a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. But I think I may have just solved issue as it appears to sync both with my laptop and the server without realising they are showing the same appointments. Just too used to MS ActiveSync which works it out.
The keyboard is still bugging me - have tried to train it using the calibrate option but still seems off. That is the top row of keys that I push match up but when i go to the second last row it always hits the last row which being space and punctuation tends to terminate the word.
Anyhow will persevere. Appreciate everyone indulging a grumpy old codger...
great tip thanks - will look for that app.
Maxwell Smart said:
Aitese - your comment about the screen going black and then turning back on when you remove it from your ear... is there a light sensor setting? as mine stays black until i tap power button unless i am talking to an actual person (rather than machine) and they hang up first.
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If you hold the phone under a bright light you'll see the sensors in the top left corner of the black bezel. To test it, make a call and then move your thumb over the top left corner and then away again...the screen should turn off when your thumb gets near and turn back on shortly after you move away. Call your voicemail box or customer service
For sms use handcent its brill and it gives you letter count.For facebook i use babbler as it gives you notification for inbox.
Maxwell Smart said:
The keyboard is still bugging me - have tried to train it using the calibrate option but still seems off. That is the top row of keys that I push match up but when i go to the second last row it always hits the last row which being space and punctuation tends to terminate the word.
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Click to collapse
BetterKeyboard plus the accompanying DarkGray theme is by far the best Android keyboard out there. HTC_IME (i.e. the HTC keyboard you're hating on) seems to be well thought of in the community but I personally hate it and think BetterKeyboard wipes the floor with it.
A few thoughts
- I just want to add a few thing giving that I also came from an HD. Compared to the HD which only had a light sensor, the Desire also comes with a proximity sensor that monitors if you have your ear close to the phone regardless of light (on the HD the screen only turned off if it was day and it could actually sense a difference in light).
If you make a call and put your phone to your ear it turns the screen off WITHOUT locking it, and when you want to terminate a call by taking it from your ear it will turn on again but not locked.
The phone locks itself only it you don't activate the proximity sensor (like when you are using a bluetooth headset and you don't take to phone to your ear). When that happenes the screen turns off after 15 seconds and yes, if you turn it on then it will be locked.
- Why do you want a hardware button for call and end? The capacitive screen with the combination of the proximity sensor makes them useless?
-Another thing i can chip in is related to the sms thing. The default SMS app shows you the number of characters left and the number of messages already typed when you are nearing the end of a message.
It shows that above the send button. If you have less the 10 characters available in that message it'll show 10/1 above the send button, and it will decrease and then turn into 145/2 saying that you have 145 characters left untill reaching 2 messages. After that it'll stay on and counting without dissapearing, until you send the message.
I find this to be a goog feature because it only warns me if i exceed one SMS.
I have used it for 2 days, and I am out of space installing apps on the HTC desire. WTF.. it can't use the 16 gig memory card to install apps and games?
There is no way I'm going to Win MO again.. but seriously.. WTF.
Maxwell Smart said:
- can't call contact directly from email
no issue here
- no hardware button to end call - pain when leave a voice message as need to turn phone on, unlock it and then end call.
as soon as you remove handset from ear it unlocks itself and turns on monitor. whats the prob here?
- double syncs everything (on exchange server) so that appointment entries appear twice in calendar
nope, no prob here
- the home screen apps are kind of useless as you basically need to launch the full app to be able to do anything (ie email or sms)
disable them if you dont like them. i find them handy
- battery life atrocious in comparison. charged my phone last night and had a full charge before going to bed and when I woke up it was at 30%. no wifi or bluetooth on.
read forum - thats you device not the desire in general
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Click to collapse
see comments above.
none of these probs appear to be desire probs but rather strange layer 8 probs
Yeah the keyboard issue is due to the resistive v capacitive screens. The resistive screens need a good push, the capacitive ones need a slight touch. You get used to it.
for facebook, a new version is downloadable which give access to your INBOX.. which is what i assume was meant?
I've looked all over Microsoft's WM7 sites and I haven't seen any place to give feedback on the phone. So far I really like it and coming from a quite happy 3 year iPhone user, I think that says a lot. I tried wireless sync last night, that's really cool.
I know an update is coming, I know it's going to be a work in progress, but where can we give some legit feedback? I know I have a good few suggestions and feature requests but haven't seen anywhere to do so.
Any ideas? Plus what features/changes would you like to see?
Obvious ones are custom ringtones, copy paste, etc. but I'd like:
1. set time before the passcode lockout goes into effect instead of every stinkin time
2. when a call comes in, not having to slide up AND press accept call
3. a reoccurring message notification if you missed a text
4. option to keep battery and signal level displayed at all times
5. a way to get back to messages while in a message (back goes to wherever you were before, not necessarily directly to messages)
6. A flashlight app that uses the LED would be nice
HTC has a flashlight that uses the LED, except on the one device they have with a xenon.
I'd suggest a car mode or docked mode for Zune, leave the screen powered on, unless I turn it off when connected to power and listening to music. If unplugged or paused, turn screen off according to settings in power management, (also if the proxmity sensor is tripped for more than 15 sec, assume I put the device in my pocket or flipped it over [while plugged in]).
Post bugs here:
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsphone7/threads
Also let me know if you get this bug:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eCY0QckCj4
Still getting used to this phone, and the couple of disappointments that came with it.
Maybe with the right ROM, I can fix this?
I need a ROM that will:
- Allow me to use google camera app
- Allow me to use my google voice assistant wake up phrase to wake up my phone WITHOUT TOUCHING IT.
- Allow me to tell google assistant to "take a picture" and have it take a picture, without me touching the screen
- Allow me to answer phone calls with one touch.
I don't want any new themes or colors or anything. I use Nova Launcher, and have an all-black desktop with all black hidden buttons.
Which ROM is the best one for me?
Thanks!
you should start with lineage i think which is about to become official and you can use google camera on it but i dont think our phone can ever have the ability to wake device etc without touching. Perhaps your coming from a motorola device where you can talk to the phone to carry out actions but that is hardware related which this phone doesnt have like always listening mic.
I agree with @sam00561. But for always listening assistant there's a mod to enable it I think (it'll use more battery but if it's a must for you then would work for you).
Assistant takes selfies if you have google camera installed. And that call thing is configurable.
But really, starting with official los helps a lot.
I put my Note 10+ on silent at night and it's on vibrate when I'm at work.
When I put it back on sound via the pull down panel, often the notifications do not go back to full sound which is rather annoying.
Is this a known issue?
Personally, I use "Bixby Routines" to set the locations where phone is on silent/vibration and on sound.
The volumes stay as they were when it changes and it works seamlessly.
Like you said, at workwhere I need it silent, it uses GPS to determine where I am and changes to vibrate , when I walk through the door at home it turns all sound back on.
Neat little feature that is hidden on the phone like soooo many awesome things...
ultramag69 said:
Personally, I use "Bixby Routines"
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip. I will definitely explore this. I have a lot to learn after 3 years with Huawei.
Walton_Melb said:
Thanks for the tip. I will definitely explore this. I have a lot to learn after 3 years with Huawei.
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LOL, it's a new feature exclusive to Note 10/10+...
Tried to install Bixby Routines onto the Note 9 but it fails...
To find little nuggets of information and awesome features, youtube is your friend... 90% you may already know but there are always little surprises there too, like how to send an sms at a certain time even if you don't have your phone with you. Good for espionage... Also you can set a reminder from a received sms to sound at a certain time and the message will show up on the screen again.
Always learning....
I have this same problem. It's rather annoying
I have a similar issue, but, in my case ALL notifications sound, except gmail, I've been trying anything that I could think of to no avail, I finally gave up and made a macro to sound when a gmail arrives, it's just a work around, but works
Same issue when using Volume buttons and Bixby Routine
Please let me know when someone figures this out. It is rather frustrating! So when I use Bixby Routine it knows the location of my workplace and automatically changes my phone to vibrate mode and when I leave work it changes the sound to turn back on. The only issue is that everything goes back to normal (ringtone, media, system, Bixby voice) except for notifications!
Even if I adjust my phone using just the volume buttons instead of the Bixby routine it would change everything to vibrate but when I change it back the notification sound is the only thing that stays silent while everything else goes back to the setting I originally had it at.
Ugh... I already cleared my cache with the physical button I thought it worked but it went back to doing the same thing...
For as long as we have had these phones, I have dealt with numerous bloatware apps I had to uninstall ala adb command line args, but one aspect of it i'm trying to deal with proves to be stubborn to a massive fault: Wi-Fi Call Notifications
Multiple times this aspect of my phone refuses to stop giving me notifications on "hey, guess what, if u enable wifi call and blah blah blah". Yeah, I get that its an alternate way to call if phone lines are down or for emergency reasons or whatever, but I DON'T CARE!!! Yet the option to turn off notifications for it are unavailable for me, greyed out, and I even set the delivery of said notifications to silent and quiet by long pressing the notification on my top-down menu when extended, but nope, still here
I need help, is there a way for me to disable these notifications in some way that wont bad times my phone, or better yet, is the wi-fi calling app, while an integrated system app and whatnot, relatively safe enough for me to adb/pm uninstall it without my phone having a hiccup and bricking itself? I just want to shut it up already, I don't want to use it, I will NOT use it, never and no how. pls halp
I'm trying to figure this out now as well... Did you solve it already?
This is probably of little help to you both, but I kept receiving that notification concerning Wi-Fi calling (USA unlocked firmware) until I stopped notifications from whatever app was displaying the Wi-Fi calling "offer", perhaps by tapping on the notification itself, or long pressing on the notification (it's been a while).
Unfortunately, I don't remember which app served the notification. In any case I haven't been bothered by it subsequently, although I don't know what else I might be missing! (Nothing that I've noticed.)