from blackberry to android on apple computers, MORE questions....

[walterkurtz]

i was a blackberry user for many years. i tried android a year ago when my bold started giving me problems (not the least of which was growing old). i tried the htc one and briefly the galaxy s3 (felt cheap) and ultimately decided that battery life killed android for me. i am on t-mobile so the iphone wasn't an option then. cut to a year later, and much anticipation for the Q10. i thought i needed a qwerty keyboard since text is my preferred method of communication (besides bbm which no one i know uses anymore). anyway, my anticipation quickly turned to frustration which led me to consider going to iphone at last (nearly every single person i know uses an iphone). since the 5S is due in the fall, i decided to buy an htc one to give android one last chance before joining the flock. it's only been a few days. there is much to love about this phone (not the least of which is being a part of modern society). but some things are bothering me. and i am hoping this community can help.

1. is there a lock button? i set a PIN code for my phone. and obviously the screen locks after whatever short time i set it. but if i know i am setting my phone down or not using it, etc. is there not a padlock button to push and activate the password protection?? seems like that would be a given.

2. on the Q10, when i pulled the phone away from my face at the end of a call, the screen woke up. my htc one isn't doing that or does not do that. is it a setting? again, this seems like something the phone should do to a) hang up, b) answer a call-waiting call, c) access the phone to text, browse, etc....

3. the notification light. this was a decision maker for me, because its the simplest and best feature on a blackberry that iphones never had. of course, in practicality, it is mostly useless on my htc one. it's so small i don't see it unless i walk over to the phone, thus defeating the purpose. is there a way to make it brighter or even consistent (since it seems to work arbitrarily).

4. battery life. does power saver work? do i need an app? yesterday was day two with this phone. i was on it a lot customizing, learning, etc...and the battery died at the end of the day. i would love for it to last an entire day. i don't watch movies or play games fyi.

5. on that note, i have read frequently that GPS is a major power drain. is that something i need to manually manage? like i turn it off, and then turn it on when i know i am going to need to use google maps et al? or can i turn it off, and google maps (et al) will automatically turn it on? i apologize for my ignorance. i am not a techie.

6. email. can or should i forward my email to gmail? i think i can figure out how to do this. again, i am not a techie. but is this the best solution to the pain other blackberry users have felt after losing 'delete on handheld' from their phone? i only have one .mac email and another account from my personal site forwarding to the android.

i will likely add to this list as my usage grows. i have already learned a lot from these forums. and i thank you all in advance for reading and helping.

 

[TarekElsakka]

Re: from blackberry to android on apple computers, many questions....

1) I don't know if that's your question, but if your screen is set to lock immediately after you press the lock button (which is on the top left of the device) then it will ask for the PIN as soon as you unlock the device.

2) Yes, the HTC One does have that and it is called a proximity sensor - pretty much any touch screen device has it. If yours isn't working properly, pay your HTC store a visit and have them check it out, it could be faulty.

3) Okay.

4) It should last an entire day if you don't watch movies, play games or do anything intensive that heats the device up and drains the battery - Power save mode DOES indeed work.

5) Yeah, you should turn it off when you're not using it because it does drain the battery. I always have it turned off unless I am using Navigation.

6) You can add a lot of email accounts on the HTC One, including Google, Hotmail, Yahoo and many others; I believe you can also add a .mac account by entering the server details yourself (which you'll need to Google to obtain, unless you already know them). I was a BlackBerry user (along with the iPhone) for a long time, starting from the Curve 8900 all the way to the Bold 9900, and the mail client on BlackBerry devices is pretty good and quick, to be honest with you, however I am sure you'll get used to the One's mail client as soon as possible. And yeah, you could just forward to GMAIL as well which should make things much easier for you. There are also some popular mail clients available to download from the Playstore if you are not satisfied with the one that comes with the device. Google 'best mail clients on Android' and you should come up with a decent list. K-9 Mail is very popular.

Congratulations on your decision and let me tell you that the HTC One is a huge leap from BlackBerry devices, but then again Android and especially HTC isn't for everyone.

 

[walterkurtz]

Re: from blackberry to android on apple computers, many questions....

thank you tarekelsakka. i really am loving the htc/android experience thus far. of course it sucks going from an actual keyboard to virtual. but swiftkey makes it far less painful.

1. you were right. i only needed to set it to lock 'immediately' instead of after ten minutes. but this is still less than ideal if i am near the phone and constantly on it. a simple padlock key would solve it i think.

2. this seems to be improving.

4. does power saver mode affect performance in any meaningful way? i've only done a little research on it today and there seem to be two camps: those that use it at whatever performance expense, and those that believe the phone should be fully functional for at least a day (and don't buy htc ones)

5. i am still trying to sort out GPS. i think google maps asks whenever i turn it on. i wonder if it turns off when i exit google maps. do you know? seems like that might get annoying having to constantly remember to turn on and off GPS.

6. i have successfully added both of my email accounts. and i use gmail for that account separately. i will check out k-9 mail...and probably try forwarding everything to gmail to see if that's better.

thank you for your help!!

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Re: from blackberry to android on apple computers, many questions....

i was a blackberry user for many years. i tried android a year ago when my bold started giving me problems (not the least of which was growing old). i tried the htc one and briefly the galaxy s3 (felt cheap) and ultimately decided that battery life killed android for me. i am on t-mobile so the iphone wasn't an option then. cut to a year later, and much anticipation for the Q10. i thought i needed a qwerty keyboard since text is my preferred method of communication (besides bbm which no one i know uses anymore). anyway, my anticipation quickly turned to frustration which led me to consider going to iphone at last (nearly every single person i know uses an iphone). since the 5S is due in the fall, i decided to buy an htc one to give android one last chance before joining the flock. it's only been a few days. there is much to love about this phone (not the least of which is being a part of modern society). but some things are bothering me. and i am hoping this community can help.

1. is there a lock button? i set a PIN code for my phone. and obviously the screen locks after whatever short time i set it. but if i know i am setting my phone down or not using it, etc. is there not a padlock button to push and activate the password protection?? seems like that would be a given.

2. on the Q10, when i pulled the phone away from my face at the end of a call, the screen woke up. my htc one isn't doing that or does not do that. is it a setting? again, this seems like something the phone should do to a) hang up, b) answer a call-waiting call, c) access the phone to text, browse, etc....

3. the notification light. this was a decision maker for me, because its the simplest and best feature on a blackberry that iphones never had. of course, in practicality, it is mostly useless on my htc one. it's so small i don't see it unless i walk over to the phone, thus defeating the purpose. is there a way to make it brighter or even consistent (since it seems to work arbitrarily).

4. battery life. does power saver work? do i need an app? yesterday was day two with this phone. i was on it a lot customizing, learning, etc...and the battery died at the end of the day. i would love for it to last an entire day. i don't watch movies or play games fyi.

5. on that note, i have read frequently that GPS is a major power drain. is that something i need to manually manage? like i turn it off, and then turn it on when i know i am going to need to use google maps et al? or can i turn it off, and google maps (et al) will automatically turn it on? i apologize for my ignorance. i am not a techie.

6. email. can or should i forward my email to gmail? i think i can figure out how to do this. again, i am not a techie. but is this the best solution to the pain other blackberry users have felt after losing 'delete on handheld' from their phone? i only have one .mac email and another account from my personal site forwarding to the android.

i will likely add to this list as my usage grows. i have already learned a lot from these forums. and i thank you all in advance for reading and helping.

1) Power button.

2) Don't use the power button to turn off the screen after accepting a call. There is a sensor in the top left corner of the phone that will automatically turn off your screen when you hold it to your head, and turn it back on when you pull it away.

3) It is what it is. You might be able to find an app akin to Lightflow that will pulse it faster or keep it on.

4) Power saver works, but if you got a whole day out of it the first day you were playing with it you'll be fine. You're not playing games or watching video so there shouldn't be any crazy power drain. Mine lasts me all day easily while browsing the web, checking social networks, making text messages and the occasional phone call. If you find it lacking there are plenty of battery apps on the Play Store that can help, but try it without first.

5) Yeah you'll have to toggle it. The One does have NFC on board, so I'd recommend buying some tags and writing them to do toggles for you. I'm using some just for this purpose and they work great. On my nightstand the tag will disable everything but wifi, in my car it'll disable wifi and enable gps, mobile data and bluetooth, and at work it'll disable everything but mobile data and also set my phone to vibrate. You can find them pretty cheap on Amazon, and the TagsForDroid brand ones are working great for me.

6) You can if you want, but why do you want to do that? Just because you own an Android phone does not obligate you to use GMail. It's a great service, and I like to use it. That doesn't mean you have to.

 

[walterkurtz]

Re: from blackberry to android on apple computers, many questions....

5) Yeah you'll have to toggle it. The One does have NFC on board, so I'd recommend buying some tags and writing them to do toggles for you. I'm using some just for this purpose and they work great. On my nightstand the tag will disable everything but wifi, in my car it'll disable wifi and enable gps, mobile data and bluetooth, and at work it'll disable everything but mobile data and also set my phone to vibrate. You can find them pretty cheap on Amazon, and the TagsForDroid brand ones are working great for me.

6) You can if you want, but why do you want to do that? Just because you own an Android phone does not obligate you to use GMail. It's a great service, and I like to use it. That doesn't mean you have to.

whoa i have to check out NFC tags! good looking out!!

i already have a gmail account. i mostly use it like hotmail, for things that aren't important. but now that i am leaving blackberry, i want an email account that saves to the server or web even if i delete a message from my phone. my personal account does that, dot mac does not. i thought it might be easier to simply forward everything to gmail. i haven't done extensive research, but it's my understanding that responding to a forwarded email will still appear to come from that account. i will check out k-9 first.

thank you!!

 

[TarekElsakka]

Re: from blackberry to android on apple computers, many questions....

thank you tarekelsakka. i really am loving the htc/android experience thus far. of course it sucks going from an actual keyboard to virtual. but swiftkey makes it far less painful.
4. does power saver mode affect performance in any meaningful way? i've only done a little research on it today and there seem to be two camps: those that use it at whatever performance expense, and those that believe the phone should be fully functional for at least a day (and don't buy htc ones)

5. i am still trying to sort out GPS. i think google maps asks whenever i turn it on. i wonder if it turns off when i exit google maps. do you know? seems like that might get annoying having to constantly remember to turn on and off GPS.

Yes, power saver mode definitely affects performance but not in a very noticeable way as even with it on, the HTC One is still a fairly powerful device with a very good and smooth ROM and UI (Sense); if you turn power saver mode ON on a Galaxy S3 (like the one I had), for instance, you'll notice it almost immediately, the UI will get laggy and sluggish (even more laggy than it already is!), however with the One you may find that the animations work a bit slower than usual and so does swiping, but that's normal. Under power saver mode you have a checklist which you can turn on or off and they are: cpu power, display, vibration and data connection. Not everyone uses the default state of power saver mode, as for me I only uncheck Data connection so that I would still be able to use Mobile Data and just use EDGE instead of 3G to conserve battery. The best thing about Power Saver mode, in my honest opinion, is minimizing CPU usage as you don't really need ALL that CPU if you're not playing an intensive game or something.

5. To be honest with you I have no idea if it turns off when you exit Google Maps, but if I am going to take a guess, as long as the satellite dish icon isn't in the statusbar, it's basically off or at least not activated, but I could be wrong. In 4.2.2 (which isn't officially out except for the One in Taiwan, I think) you have an EQS (Extended Quick Settings) in the notification pull down like the one in Samsung if you've seen it, and one of the toggles is GPS so it makes it A LOT easier to turn it on and off. There are many 4.2.2-based Sense and AOSP custom ROMs in XDA developers. If you're ever considering going custom just for 4.2.2, then go for Android Revolution HD because it is basically stock but with better performance and battery life, but no visual changes whatsoever.

Good luck.

 

[walterkurtz]

Re: from blackberry to android on apple computers, many questions....

ugh. now my email isn't syncing. both accounts are set to sync every 5 minutes during peak hours (7a-7p, 7 days/wk). not happening. i only get email when i manually refresh. this sucks. i have a feeling it has something to do with some auto-sync switch or something set somewhere to only work if i am on wifi. but i have my wifi turned off to conserve power. and i don't want to auto sync everything under the autosync button (dropbox, stocks and a number of other things i don't use want or need).

EDIT: got K-9. ugly but works! brilliantly!!

UPDATE: learned that i had to get the most up to date version of K-9 directly from K-9...much better!

(i still miss 'delete on handheld' and 'delete on handheld and mailbox' from my blackberry)

 

[walterkurtz]

Re: from blackberry to android on apple computers, many questions....

1. why doesn't the stock MESSAGES app show the number of unread messages? i am using nova launcher and nova unread doesn't work

2. why is google maps always running whenever i open my APPS setting? (no, i do not have MAPS open)...

3. on that note, what is the proper way to close apps? is there such a thing as 'quitting' or 'exiting' on android? or do i have to go to the home screen, hit the toggle switch for 'open apps' then flick them away? does that quit them? is quit the correct term?? sorry, i am new at this.

4. snooze doesn't work on the stock calendar. i hit snooze and the reminder never returns.

5. is there any way to search the device? i try to find things on the phone and there isn't even a search button or app?? is google supposed to do that?

6. what is the difference between GOOGLE NOW and GOOGLE SEARCH APP? i can't seem to find a definitive answer on line...i should google it again! ugh

i am sure there are apps to solve a lot of these problems. for #1 i have tried TEXTRA. it works and shows unread count, but it's ugly by comparison...and there is no 'secure' text feature, at least not that i've seen. anyway, i could write a lengthy rant about still considering switching to iphone. but i want to keep the android. i just need it to work. any help is greatly appreciated. cheers.

6.5 seriously? this is google's response to 'call mom'? i have an excellent speaking voice!

 

[TarekElsakka]

Re: from blackberry to android on apple computers, many questions....

1. That's just how Android is, or at least TouchWiz, Sense and stock Android UIs. TelsaUnread SHOULD work, I'd remove it and reinstall it then reboot the device and see. Also check TelsaUnread settings and make sure "Messages" is checked.
2. I guess that's just how Google integrated it. If you go to Settings > Location and turn everything off, Google Maps should have little to no effect in terms of performance, battery life and wakelocks. If you're rooted, you can either disable it or hibernate it using Greenify so that it would ONLY work on your command.
3. Some applications (not a lot) have an "Exit" icon, but tapping the back key and then flicking them from Recent Apps should do the trick.
4. Don't know.
5. There's a Google Search widget that you can add, it should index your device as well as the internet.
6. Well, Google Now sort of works like "Siri" on the iPhone. It isn't just a search engine, but it does a whole lot more than just that. Just read up on Google Now and you'll understand the difference.

 

[rockbestit]

Re: from blackberry to android on apple computers, many questions....

i will check out k-9 mail...and probably try forwarding everything to gmail to see if that's better.