Transition to S6 Edge from Windows Phone 8.1

[JayC_TO]

As my current Lumia 1520 has started acting up and I wasn't sure it would last much longer, I’ve decided to try Android. It’s a really nicely built phone with a fantastic screen however… I can’t figure out if there are still some really big gaps in Android (for my use) or if I just haven’t figured it out yet. I’ve spent a couple days Googling everything however either a) I’m not asking the question correctly for ‘Android speak’ or b) the correct answer is buried in the 5,000-10,000 articles on the topic. Since many here seem to understand both sides of the equation (with Windows Central being a sister site); I figured I would ask the questions here. With my carrier I only get 30 minutes talk time or 15 days until I can no longer return the phone if it won't work for me, so the clock is ticking…

- Email Notifications – Coming from Windows Phone 8.1, I naturally loaded the Outlook app for my work mail. Using Outlook, I can’t figure out…
>> How to light up the lock screen with the incoming email notification (as 8.1 did with the banner/toast)
>> How to get an unread message count on the Outlook icon
>> How to see a detailed list of unread mail in the pull down notifications
Are these limitations of Outlook? Should I be using something else to achieve the behavior I need?

Contacts – I have a couple of Outlook.com/Live/Hotmail accounts… one of them will not bring in the contacts, which has left a huge hole in my contact list. Everything looks good in the settings when comparing the working account to the one that’s not bringing contacts.
- Using the Google Now assistant – when connected to the car, the phone does not respond to ‘OK Google’ command, which Cortana did (to 'Hey Cortana'). Even if I manually engage it, it doesn’t hear the command.
- Google Now vs. Cortana – The arrival of incoming texts were announced on WP 8.1, with options to ‘Read or Ignore’ initially and then dictate a response if needed. The S6 has my car’s system read the text to me (or display it on the screen, which is something I’ve never had before) and my response options are pre-packaged messages from the car’s system. Can you configure Google Now to interact through the car as Cortana does? Given how long my commute is, this is a much needed feature.
- Google Maps & Turn by turn – Using 8.1 and HERE Maps & HERE Drive in the car (while connected to Bluetooth), the turn by turn was provided through the cars audio system, regardless of what the source was (radio, SAT, CD or phone media), it would cut in. The S6 can only be heard calling out the navigational info when on Media > Bluetooth source and is silent on any other source. If this is a phone setting, I can’t locate anything to adjust it.

I really like the S6 form, build quality and camera. It’s nice to have access to new apps and more robust versions of apps I’ve had in the past however… I need to sort these features out. The S6 battery is just sad, so I’ll need to ensure I always have a charger on me now. Other than that though, it seems like a nice phone.

Thanks in advance for any help the group can provide.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central!

How to light up the lock screen with the incoming email notification (as 8.1 did with the banner/toast)

Most Android devices don't light the screen up for notifications--they usually rely on a notification LED light. If you want the screen to light up, there are a number of 3rd party apps you can try. DynamicNotifications is pretty popular.

How to get an unread message count on the Outlook icon

This is dependent on the phone's user interface--not all app shortcut icons will have this feature on Samsung devices. You may want to try Notifyer.

How to see a detailed list of unread mail in the pull down notifications

What do you mean by detailed? Typically, the list of unread emails in the notifications will show the sender and subject line, and perhaps the first line of the email.

Contacts – I have a couple of Outlook.com/Live/Hotmail accounts… one of them will not bring in the contacts, which has left a huge hole in my contact list. Everything looks good in the settings when comparing the working account to the one that’s not bringing contacts.

This is probably not what you want to hear, but it may be best to export your contacts and import them into Google Contacts. The integration is much tighter. I find that trying to sync contacts from various other types of accounts can be frustrating.

Using the Google Now assistant – when connected to the car, the phone does not respond to ‘OK Google’ command, which Cortana did (to 'Hey Cortana'). Even if I manually engage it, it doesn’t hear the command.

How are you manually engaging it? You're bringing up Google Now and trying to say Ok Google at that time?

 

[JayC_TO]

Hi Diddy,
Thanks for taking the time to respond. The Christmas festivities has me getting back to you a little late...

Thanks for the suggestion of Dynamic Notifications, I'll give that a look. Given the battery life that I'm seeing on this device, it may prove to be counter productive to my needs. The LED notification may be the best compromise... kick it old skool BlackBerry blinker style!

I've just downloaded Notifyer and will try that for the Outlook inbox unread count.

With respect to the 'Detailed list in the pull down', that was my error. I realized that a second swipe of the dropdown would prompt the display of sender and subject that I was looking for.

Ya, you're right, I'm certainly not digging the whole export my contacts thing. Didn't like it when I was doing it for BlackBerry 10+ years ago and I'm a little surprised that it still posses an issue now. I suspect this has something to do with Google still not wanting to play well with Microsoft, was contacts from Gmail to WP8.1 (or 7 or 8.0) was not an issue at all.

To manually engage voice I literally mean touching the Google mic icon in the search... certainly not the safe approach. This is probably the single largest issue for me on this platform. There are a bunch of things I like about Android but without the ability for a robust, hands-free interaction in the car that Windows Phone has natively, I may be done.

Either I'm missing something with setting this up or Android folks would be very surprised to see how a '3rd rate OS' (as I heard WP recently referred to) is so much more compelling to use in some common tasks.

Thanks again Diddy! After 90-100 views... I was wondering if anyone had the insight or knowledge to weigh in.
Cheers!

 

[B. Diddy]

To manually engage voice I literally mean touching the Google mic icon in the search... certainly not the safe approach. This is probably the single largest issue for me on this platform. There are a bunch of things I like about Android but without the ability for a robust, hands-free interaction in the car that Windows Phone has natively, I may be done.

Review this support page, specifically about turning on Ok Google On Any Screen: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/6031948?hl=en

Something else that in no way directly solves you issue, but instead is an example of the benefit of Android Wear watches, is that when I'm in a car, I can say "Ok Google" to my ZenWatch and give any number of Google Now commands without having to touch my phone.