HELP! Need to get G1 Working or Dieter Will Kill Me!

[Dieter Bohn]

Er... Can has secondary/tertiary/etc. Gmail account? Can't find where to add multiple Googleness? Am I just missing something obvious?

(Not always intuitive what's hidden where, esp. menu button)

You can't have multiple google accounts -- you'll have to set up IMAP in the email client. Annoying, but it works.

 

[Dieter Bohn]

Gmail client is confusing the heck out of me. I accidentally deleted Crackberry Kevin's email, couldn't figure out how to undelete it (though I could unlabel it?), then succeeded only by spamming it, then couldn't unspam.

Moving back to the inbox took a while to find, and what's touch vs. what's hidden behind the menu button is near impenetrable to me so far.

Has anyone determined any conventions as to what does what? Any "rules" or an Android equivalent of Apple's Human Interface Guidelines?

LOL. Welcome to android, now in Beta, where the UI is different across each app.

You may want to check out our article on gmail shortcuts...

 

[Dieter Bohn]

I've always found Google Contacts to be the weak link, the chink in the Gmail armor of goodness, and Android is quickly re-affirming that belief. Unlike Exchange and MobileMe, where I have very complete listings for all my baseline contacts, the Gmail contacts are polluted by addresses I guess Google chose to remember but without encapsulating information (i.e. tons of No Names to scroll through). To top it off, many contacts are missing numbers, or don't have properly identified numbers, making it almost impossible to use Contacts as a way to, well, contact people.

Is there a better Contacts app available, third party maybe? Or some way to "clean" Google's truth store?

(To make matters worse, iSync in now throwing up all over itself adding and removing contact info, and it looks like I'll have to waste a bunch of time hand preening my master list. Google -- Beta is bad enough, fix this pre-Alpha!)

I'm not a fan of google contacts either, but once you give up being OCD with your contacts it's actually sort of nice -- you eventually just 'trust' it and let it be a little messy.

As for "scrolling through contacts," the only people that I know who do that sort of thing are iPhone users. Everybody else uses the keyboard to autosearch.

 

[Rene Ritchie]

Likely the IM client is the same as OZ on Windows Mobile in that it is partially SMS based. In other words, it will only work on T-Mobile.

Looks like it's time for you to go peruse the android market!

Ah, the power of an open system Thanks much. Can anyone recommend a killer IM app? I use AIM the most, but have MM and gTalk as well.

Funny gTalk isn't built in? Jabber should "just work"?

 

[Rene Ritchie]

You can't have multiple google accounts -- you'll have to set up IMAP in the email client. Annoying, but it works.

Interesting! I can't add additional Exchange accounts on the iPhone, but it seems to let me add additional MobileMe accounts, which kind of scares me, actually, as "sync is hard" and I don't see how multiple truth stores on MM would co-exist... though AS and MM seems to co-exist well enough...

Setting up other Gmail as IMAP now...

 

[Rene Ritchie]

LOL. Welcome to android, now in Beta, where the UI is different across each app.

You may want to check out our article on gmail shortcuts...

Bah! I have avoid shortcuts on the WebApp. This is the post-GUI, post-WIMP world, and I'm expected to use productivity enhancers like the... keyboard!

Will check out the article, thanks!

 

[Rene Ritchie]

I'm not a fan of google contacts either, but once you give up being OCD with your contacts it's actually sort of nice -- you eventually just 'trust' it and let it be a little messy.

As for "scrolling through contacts," the only people that I know who do that sort of thing are iPhone users. Everybody else uses the keyboard to autosearch.

Fie! I say thee Fie! I just spent an hour or so cleaning out tons of multiple contacts and other garbage. They really need to build a decent contact app.

Is there a Market alternative anyone could recommend?

(And, er... yeah, I remember typing for contacts. D'oh! -- but, for some reason, tons of my contacts are now un-identified, so I have to actually remember the number -- something I haven't done in years!)

 

[Rene Ritchie]

Okay, need to get my calendar working. I store all my work stuff in Exchange 2003, which I don't think provides iCalendar/ICS out, so that might be a no go?

My personal stuff is in iCal. Do I have to break down and get that syncing app, or can I just subscribe within gCal?

 

[Rene Ritchie]

So far: Exported from iCal as an ics and then imported into Google Calendar online.

Snoogins. Have Calendar on G1.

Won't sync with iCal, tho.

I also tried copying an iCal shared URL and subscribing in Google Calendar online, but was told it wasn't compatible...?

 

[Rene Ritchie]

Now have work Exchange (via IMAP), personal Gmail (via GMAIL), and TiPb Gmail (via IMAP) hooked up and working. Having two different mail apps is a little strange as I already think the iPhone severely lacks a unified inbox in its single app...

Calendar is up but not syncing.

I don't use tasks or notes much, but Apple Mail folders are there for my Mail.app todos, so that's working.

MAPS in now my challenge. How reliable is MAPS for everyone? So far its a bit of a bust for me. It pegs my house as a block too far south. My mother's house is showing up as 4 blocks too far west! Is this because I'm on EDGE in Canada? iPhone 2G jailbroken and unlocked was about like this and didn't even have GPS, so while I'm getting a blue dot, is it defaulting to Skyhook WiFi and Google cell mapping and just best guessing the dot?

Any ideas?

I need to get directions, but unless I'm lobbing artillery shells, I ain't gonna hit nothing like this

 

[Rene Ritchie]

Pairing with my bluetooth was super easy (though I panicked to remember the pin number).

I tried the voice dial, which I've missed since back in the days of wayback on a featurephone, and was really impressed when I said a name and it instantly found the contact first time. However, that's the only time it ever found the contact! I've tried dozens of times since then -- even with the same name! -- and it completely blows it.

Is there some trick to voice dialing? Or is it like golf where the n00b gets the hole in one and you spend your whole life chasing it ever after?!

 

[Rene Ritchie]

Mobile Chrome (is that what the browser is called) is pretty good. The lack of multi-touch slows me down a little, and I'm still not figuring out what is on-screen vs. behind the menu button, but page renders are really good.

Worst pet peeve to date: Android presents text boxes for input when the keyboard is stowed and you can't input. Better user experience to gray it out and pop up a "please open keyboard to enter text" dialog (unless I'm missing a virtual keyboard??).

 

[Rene Ritchie]

So battery lasted about 30 hrs on Edge with WiFi and BT on, not bad. Although MAPS doesn't really know where I am, if I hard type the directions, it gets me from point A to point B with the usual Google effectiveness. Haven't seen Street View yet, is that just cause I'm a filthy Canadian?

Amazon MP3 store works well, but rejects my credit card, also due to the filthiness and Canadianess, no doubt. So no buying music for me. Any other way to get Music on OTA?

 

[Rene Ritchie]

Any way to sync or copy over my bookmarks from Safari or Firefox to the Android browser?

Also, interestingly, I tried logging into me.com via the Android browser and got an intercept screen telling me to go register, or use the apps directly on my iPhone. Since both are mobile WebKit, are they not properly detected and distinguished?

Lastly... HOW DO I TAKE SCREENSHOTS OF ALL THIS?!

 

[bilobi]

MAPS in now my challenge. How reliable is MAPS for everyone? So far its a bit of a bust for me. It pegs my house as a block too far south. My mother's house is showing up as 4 blocks too far west! Is this because I'm on EDGE in Canada? iPhone 2G jailbroken and unlocked was about like this and didn't even have GPS, so while I'm getting a blue dot, is it defaulting to Skyhook WiFi and Google cell mapping and just best guessing the dot?

Any ideas?

I need to get directions, but unless I'm lobbing artillery shells, I ain't gonna hit nothing like this

Have you tried moving around a bit, maybe getting in the car. Sometimes maps has me off a street, but if I start driving it corrects itself

 

[bilobi]

Pairing with my bluetooth was super easy (though I panicked to remember the pin number).

I tried the voice dial, which I've missed since back in the days of wayback on a featurephone, and was really impressed when I said a name and it instantly found the contact first time. However, that's the only time it ever found the contact! I've tried dozens of times since then -- even with the same name! -- and it completely blows it.

Is there some trick to voice dialing? Or is it like golf where the n00b gets the hole in one and you spend your whole life chasing it ever after?!

I don't use voice dailing. It works sometimes on the g1 but its never worked for me on my treo.

 

[bilobi]

Mobile Chrome (is that what the browser is called) is pretty good. The lack of multi-touch slows me down a little, and I'm still not figuring out what is on-screen vs. behind the menu button, but page renders are really good.

Worst pet peeve to date: Android presents text boxes for input when the keyboard is stowed and you can't input. Better user experience to gray it out and pop up a "please open keyboard to enter text" dialog (unless I'm missing a virtual keyboard??).

virtual keyboard coming in January!

 

[bilobi]

So battery lasted about 30 hrs on Edge with WiFi and BT on, not bad. Although MAPS doesn't really know where I am, if I hard type the directions, it gets me from point A to point B with the usual Google effectiveness. Haven't seen Street View yet, is that just cause I'm a filthy Canadian?

Amazon MP3 store works well, but rejects my credit card, also due to the filthiness and Canadianess, no doubt. So no buying music for me. Any other way to get Music on OTA?

Isn't there some shady russian mp3 site??

 

[Dieter Bohn]

So battery lasted about 30 hrs on Edge with WiFi and BT on, not bad. Although MAPS doesn't really know where I am, if I hard type the directions, it gets me from point A to point B with the usual Google effectiveness. Haven't seen Street View yet, is that just cause I'm a filthy Canadian?

Your battery life is certainly better than mine was! Street view might not work in canada, I don't know. I don't have street view in my tiny town, but you can search for something in a big US city and play with it that way.

Any way to sync or copy over my bookmarks from Safari or Firefox to the Android browser?

Also, interestingly, I tried logging into me.com via the Android browser and got an intercept screen telling me to go register, or use the apps directly on my iPhone. Since both are mobile WebKit, are they not properly detected and distinguished?

Lastly... HOW DO I TAKE SCREENSHOTS OF ALL THIS?!

Bookmarks: not that I know of.

mobileme: just because it's webkit doesn't mean it will work like safari. It's just a rendering engine.

screenshots: no app yet. I installed the devkit and used usb debugging mode to take screenshots per this download squad tutorial:

Taking screenshots on an Android-based phone - Download Squad

....but I recommend you just take pictures.

Pairing with my bluetooth was super easy (though I panicked to remember the pin number).

I tried the voice dial, which I've missed since back in the days of wayback on a featurephone, and was really impressed when I said a name and it instantly found the contact first time. However, that's the only time it ever found the contact! I've tried dozens of times since then -- even with the same name! -- and it completely blows it.

Is there some trick to voice dialing? Or is it like golf where the n00b gets the hole in one and you spend your whole life chasing it ever after?!

Less "eh" and more twang? Voice Dialing worked great for me every time. I think you can even hold down the send button to activate it.

 

[Rene Ritchie]

Have you tried moving around a bit, maybe getting in the car. Sometimes maps has me off a street, but if I start driving it corrects itself

One of my longstanding nightmares, absent the "corrects itself" part, of course. (Control issues, I know)

The iPhone will sometimes have me in the parking lot instead of the building, but this is disturbing. Is there a 3rd party GPS package for Android yet? Turn-by-Turn?