Android coming from Palm Pre

[jostan]

Day3 with my epic. I love all of the app options.bi really miss webos. Hopefully palm will come out with new hardware in year or so. I get to upgrade annually on sprint

 

[smashclash]

Ca you install a program onto your computer? Can you tap a button? The good news, you can root an epic 4G in about as much time as it would take you to type in the konami code.

I've read a lot of the root threads and gave it a try but I don't really know what I'm doing. It seems like every thread has a slightly different way to do things. Some rooting is temp, others are perm. Then once you get it down you're not sure if you did it or not unless you run a couple of programs to tell you. It's really overwhelming. I wish there was a video example showing everything you need to do cause my head is going to explode. I don't know if I need to install the Java SDK, Android SDK, USB Drivers, a root program, type in commands, blah blah blah.... and then what do I need to do to undo everything once Froyo is released?

 

[jamex]

The email client does not support HTML either. How lame is that.

 

[liquidxit2]

I love webOS, but the pre cant even touch the epic. The hardware alone justifies the switch, but add in the lack of maturity webOS has (and it bricking for no reason!) and Im now an android user until they get their act together. WebOS is great and I fell its alot easier to use, but there are just so many limitations to the OS that have impacted my work and personal use experience with the pre.

Im a LONG time palm user and my loyalties are still kinda with them, but they really screwed us loyalists by removing some of the best reasons to choose palm products. Then they packaged it in the worst hardware I have ever seen in a phone, let alone a smart phone, and then sold it to us under the guise of it being a palm. Their 'cloud' backup system is terrible and I lost my contacts due to it. My phone literally fell apart when I dropped it less then 3 feet on a pile of laundry. No d pad or navigation other then the touch screen makes editing text boxes impossible. No external keyboard option (HUGE PITA). No palm desktop and the list could keep going on.

Now being as my loyalties still kinda align with them and the history I havent dumped or bad mouthed palm (I have kinda done this to the pre, but I still dont think its a true palm) I hope VERY much that they get their act together and put out a great phone. They need to use hardware thats comparable to android devices, and learn from the features that come with android phones and then take a look at their roots. Once they do that palm will be right back to its former glory and I may even have another great palm device in my pocket again. Until they make said device comparable or better then the epic I'm an android user and fan 100%.

 

[dragonol2]

Steps assume you are in an app to start with and want to go back to another app that is also running.

Pre Steps:
-Swipe up to go to card view.
-Swipe over to get to other card (app).
-Touch card to expand to full view.

Android steps:
-Touch and hold Home button
-Select other app to view.

Two steps vs. three steps not really a big difference.

I get the whole long press the home button thing... problem with that is that it only displays the 6 most recent apps, and displays them REGARDLESS of if they are running in the background or not... so it will display stuff to you that might or might not be closed, depending on how you left that app...

A true task manager will display what's open at the time (open and actively running) and allow you to move between these apps (all of them) at any given time... yes, I have adapted to the way my Epic is doing it now so I'm not complaining, I'm just comparing red delicious to granny smith

 

[lorcha]

I have a Pre, and I'm likely to upgrade to the Epic soon. I do have a few questions for former Pre users:

1. For everyone who doesn't like Android's email client, have you tried the K-9 client? How does it compare?

2. Do apps run in the background after you hit the back button and/or select a different app? For instance, if I try to load a webpage and it's taking for ever and I switch over to another app while the page is loading, if I switch back to the browser app later, will the page be loaded already?

3. If you used your Pre 1-handedly a lot, how 1-handable is the Epic? I have a feeling I'm going to miss that, but if the virtual keyboard works well in portrait mode, maybe it'll be OK.

4. I seem to have cellphone ADD and switch between apps a ton on my Pre. Is holding the home key and picking an app going to drive me crazy? Seems like it would take forever to switch between apps on Android.

Thanks, in advance!

 

[lancelot916]

Hi everyone,

I've switched from Pre to Epic and I think we missed the OP questions and dissappointments which I also share.

The main thing is that the email client is quite poor on Android/Epic. I think this is a major downfall, to the point that I may switch back to my Pre. I can't set it to "receive as they arrive." Every 5 minutes defeats purpose of IMAP.

Also, when I reply to an email, it doesn't show on my laptop (which is also IMAP) that I responded to it, whereas on my Pre, if I reply on my Pre, it will reflect on my laptop. That's a big downer.

So this is more specific to email instead of just webOS vs. Android. I think we all know and agree webOS is better than Android and that we just wanted better hardware.

In any event, the main question is "Is there some email client that can help us?"

 

[lorcha]

In any event, the main question is "Is there some email client that can help us?"

Have you tried K-9?

If so, I'd like to get your opinion on how it compares with the Pre email client.

 

[peterweb]

I have a Pre, and I'm likely to upgrade to the Epic soon. I do have a few questions for former Pre users:

1. For everyone who doesn't like Android's email client, have you tried the K-9 client? How does it compare?

2. Do apps run in the background after you hit the back button and/or select a different app? For instance, if I try to load a webpage and it's taking for ever and I switch over to another app while the page is loading, if I switch back to the browser app later, will the page be loaded already?

3. If you used your Pre 1-handedly a lot, how 1-handable is the Epic? I have a feeling I'm going to miss that, but if the virtual keyboard works well in portrait mode, maybe it'll be OK.

4. I seem to have cellphone ADD and switch between apps a ton on my Pre. Is holding the home key and picking an app going to drive me crazy? Seems like it would take forever to switch between apps on Android.

Thanks, in advance!

I came from the Pre too.

1) I like the gMail client. I think it is great because it does so much more. For example when I archive an email on the Epic it does the same thing on my gMail account. Pre did this when it first came out then, THEY fixed it to standard pop protocol, yuck. Did not use the Pre to manage emails, Epic I can do that, win!

2) Learned a trick that I love. When in an app clicking the Home button will keep it running, clicking the Back button will close the app. This allows me to manage what is open and not by choosing Home (to keep running) or Back (to close app). That was a nice find in my book.

3) I cannot really speak to this because I did not work with my Pre one handed. Epic screen is bigger so it will be tougher to do it all with one hand. But that is a trade off with a bigger screen.

4) In my other post on this thread, I found it very easy and potential quicker then on the Pre. Your are two clicks away from the last 6 apps you ran. Hold Home button, then select the app. That easy. Works well when going back and forth between two apps.

 

[dragonol2]

I have a Pre, and I'm likely to upgrade to the Epic soon. I do have a few questions for former Pre users:

1. For everyone who doesn't like Android's email client, have you tried the K-9 client? How does it compare?

2. Do apps run in the background after you hit the back button and/or select a different app? For instance, if I try to load a webpage and it's taking for ever and I switch over to another app while the page is loading, if I switch back to the browser app later, will the page be loaded already?

3. If you used your Pre 1-handedly a lot, how 1-handable is the Epic? I have a feeling I'm going to miss that, but if the virtual keyboard works well in portrait mode, maybe it'll be OK.

4. I seem to have cellphone ADD and switch between apps a ton on my Pre. Is holding the home key and picking an app going to drive me crazy? Seems like it would take forever to switch between apps on Android.

Thanks, in advance!

1. Haven't tried K-9 yet... am still experimenting with the Android stock email app and my Yahoo Mail app... would love to hear some feedback on K-9g

2. Yes, as far as your specific question about browser loading in the background while in another app, this has worked for me several times so it's working pretty well so far...

3. The virtual keyboard works pretty well but I go 2-hands when typing (either with the virtual keyboard or obviously the QWERTY)... with normal tasks (browsing, using different apps, normal smartphone functions), I'm able to use 1-handed pretty confidently and efficiently... beware though if you have small hands!

4. Holding the Home button down and switching between apps is not very user friendly for me, simply because it doesn't do everything that I want it to do... it will show me the most recent open / used apps, but if there was an app that I left open further back in the history, it's not displayed... the task monitor widget helps out with knowing what's running and what's not, but you can't use it to switch between tasks and apps, only kill them...

Hope this helps! And if you're on the fence, go ahead and take the plunge... yes, there are things that are different and not as efficient, but the overall upgrade in tech and speed and power and all that jazz more than makes up for it... good luck!

 

[dragonol2]

2) Learned a trick that I love. When in an app clicking the Home button will keep it running, clicking the Back button will close the app. This allows me to manage what is open and not by choosing Home (to keep running) or Back (to close app). That was a nice find in my book.

This has worked for me sometimes but not always... and if it's the browser, it's not very convenient (like if you've been surfing for quite some time and want to try to close the browser, are you REALLY going to keep pushing back that many times in order to close it?)... doesn't seem very efficient...

 

[lancelot916]

Have you tried K-9?

If so, I'd like to get your opinion on how it compares with the Pre email client.

Thanks for this suggestion! It's just what I am looking for. We'll see if it's able to fix the issues:

1. push IMAP (i think it does)
2. syncing w/folders when I send/reply to emails

It seems to work well. I just wish it looked or felt more refined. Doesn't seem to to HTML like the Epic Email Client does. And I can't zoom in or out.

 

[frankos72]

Thanks for this suggestion! It's just what I am looking for. We'll see if it's able to fix the issues:

1. push IMAP (i think it does)
2. syncing w/folders when I send/reply to emails

It seems to work well. I just wish it looked or felt more refined. Doesn't seem to to HTML like the Epic Email Client does. And I can't zoom in or out.

I tried K-9 and MailDroid. MailDroid is better at Imap than K-9, but ultimately there is NO REAL IMAP for Android that I know of at this time. I think that STINKS! Honestly my biggest gripes with MailDroid are 1)I dddn't like the interface and 2)For some reason my mail notification wouldn't go away even after I had read them. Today I'm trying the stock mail app again and I've set it to check every 5 minutes. I might try MailDroid again tomorrow as the stock app checking ever 5 mins is killing my battery.

 

[frankos72]

I have a Pre, and I'm likely to upgrade to the Epic soon. I do have a few questions for former Pre users:

1. For everyone who doesn't like Android's email client, have you tried the K-9 client? How does it compare?

2. Do apps run in the background after you hit the back button and/or select a different app? For instance, if I try to load a webpage and it's taking for ever and I switch over to another app while the page is loading, if I switch back to the browser app later, will the page be loaded already?

3. If you used your Pre 1-handedly a lot, how 1-handable is the Epic? I have a feeling I'm going to miss that, but if the virtual keyboard works well in portrait mode, maybe it'll be OK.

4. I seem to have cellphone ADD and switch between apps a ton on my Pre. Is holding the home key and picking an app going to drive me crazy? Seems like it would take forever to switch between apps on Android.

Thanks, in advance!

1. Dont care for K-9 at all. I found MailDroid to be better, but I'm still not sure it's the answer. I forgot about the reply not showing up on desktop thing, I'll check that in MailDroid soon.

3. It's for this very reason I actually find myself using swype with my thumb. This wasn't possible for me with the EVO, but it's working out okay with the Epic. Still not as one hand friendly as the Pre though. I think it's cause the touch screen keyboard is smooth rather than tactile like the Pre keyboard. This is my only gripe with the physical KB too is that the keys are so smooth there is no real "feeling" your way around the keyboard.

4. It is slower than the Pre, and sometimes annoying, but if yo can get past it the phone is still a great phone.


What's not mentioned that is a huge plus for Android, even if Palm had a epic caliber phone right now is the app catalog. It's really nice when there really is an app for anything you could need. That will be the biggest thing I miss when I got back to webOS on a new phone in the future.

 

[peterweb]

All said, I do hope in Android 3.0 they add something like cards.

I am still getting used how to navigate around to get info. Just like with the Pre it took time to understand.

We are all changing old habits and learning new habits. Not always easy.

 

[woodyg8]

Evey day I find something on this phone that make me miss my pre less and less. Today's finding was the sound through my bluetooth stereo headset is a lot better. Yesterday I found that my EPIC would last 24hrs on one charge compared to 10hrs on the pre. The first day I found that not all smart phones require 3 minutes to reboot, some can do it in under 30 seconds. Yes there are a few features I will miss with webos but with everything android offers I am sure with time those features will be replaced with even better ones.

 

[youngzayiles]

Ok let me spread some knowledge about some things that people may not know... Android has task management so there is no need for a task killer.. Unless you know what your doing it can actually cause more harm then good. Someone mentions pressing back a bunch of times is not efficient when closing the browser.. U don't need to close the browser.. Memory management within android will take care of that... Its not going to slow down your device...

Read this article to better understand android task management:

Android Developers Blog: Multitasking the Android Way

Also read this article about task killers:

http://forum.androidcentral.com/272645-post317.html

Only thing I really miss in webOS is the notifications... The rest I dont.... Maybe when better hardware comes out and its less buggy I could try it again... But there are still alot of bugs to work out in web OS...

There is also a web os like card switcher but I dont remember what it is called ill try to find out for you guys..

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

This has worked for me sometimes but not always... and if it's the browser, it's not very convenient (like if you've been surfing for quite some time and want to try to close the browser, are you REALLY going to keep pushing back that many times in order to close it?)... doesn't seem very efficient...

When you want to close the browser, hold home--Task manager--> kill browser-->home. much faster than hitting back a ton of times.

 

[smashclash]

There is also a web os like card switcher but I dont remember what it is called ill try to find out for you guys..

you'll be my hero if you pull this off.

 

[deadpanwalking]

I just got the EPIC 4G, and the WebOS e-mail app is noticeably better than the Android OS e-mail app and the gmail app. The WebOS app is extremely intuitive and out of the box it lets you have access all the inboxes and how many e-mails are unread. You can also swipe from one e-mail to the next without having to scroll back to your inbox.
In the end however, the speed of the EPIC 4G makes up for it. The Pre was just so slow.... The EPIC 4G just zips through everything you throw at it.

I agree, you will miss the Webos. I spent two days configuring Android OS to my taste. With the Pre it took less than 1hr. Now, to be fair, Android OS does provide much more configurability.

This. Bottom line is Android is much more fun due to the number of apps and the speed and smoothness with which everything runs. There is not a more elegant solution out there for handling notifications and multitasking than what is offered on WebOS, but the Epic 4G for me is just plain fun. Also, I live in North Orange County where 4g is LIVE.