Switching from Blackberry. Couple questions.

[thenewnoise]

I want to switch from my Curve to the Droid. Can anyone tell me if Android can do the things below.

1) When syncing multiple emails accounts, Exchange, Gmail, ect, can you set a separate alert for each account. Can I make emails coming from Exchange do nothing but emails coming from Gmail make a sound or vibrate?

2) Ring profiles. Can you set up profiles for the phone. Currently I have a work profile and a home profile and one for phone only at night that everything is silenced except the ringer. In each profile emails, texts, and calls make different sounds or vibrate. Is that possible on Android?


I've searched around and am having a hard time finding this info.


thanks

 

[mclarryjr]

I would like to know these answers too because I will be coming form BlackBerry. I hope you can because I have a lot of different profiles and alerts.

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

1) yes you can set separate alerts, or at least you should be able too. I have a completely different sound for each of my email accounts. The same is true for vibration. You set up a main alert (default) for all the accounts in the settings menu, then you have the option withing the individual account settings to set the alert and vibrate for that specific account.

2) As far as the ring profiles, I personally do not have the ability to create profiles, but I am on android 1.6. The droid ships with 2.0, but I'm not sure if this is something they may have added or not. On my device there are the usual options of volume, vibrate, silent, with the ability to set individual ringtones and alertd for contacts, emails, texts, etc...

Good luck in your search. Hope this is a little helpful.

P.S. Android is awesomeness!

 

[mclarryjr]

Thanks for the reply

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

For question number 2 - a free app called Locale will give you almost every and anything you can ask for in profile managment. Hell it even texts my wife, opens my garage door and turns on my porch light when I turn onto my street. YES I'm serious.

Locale v0.69 beta Application for Android | Tools

 

[D-LuX]

My Question...

Importing Contacts...

I use a mac, but I also have a PC (without Outlook)

On the Motorola page it says to transfer contacts to outlook, then import, etc etc... Well this doesn't seem to be an option for me...

There is an option in the Blackberry desktop manager to switch devices. either to a new blackberry or another smartphone... Does anyone know if this will work on the Motorola Droid? I don't get mine till tues, but I reall don't wanna type a few hundred phone numbers, and emails all over again.

Thanks
Dan

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

You could always give this a shot:

Go Here

http://forum.androidcentral.com/android-help-how/1113-address-book-sync-tutorial-mac-gmail.html

Good Luck!

 

[D-LuX]

Thanks I'll give it a shot!

 

[Dreded]

I have searched and searched as well for an answer to the profile/phone only questions. I do not think it is possible as of yet, which is killing me. I travel a lot and do business via email all over the world. I get emails all day, every day. The only thing that keeps me sane is the ability to set my BB to "phone only" when I go to bed. That way if the family needs to get me in an emergency they can while I do not have to listen to the hundreds of emails I am getting all day and all night.

This seems to be the ONE thing that is keeping me from committing to the Droid 100%. I love this damn thing... a lot!

I have downloaded Locale, and have played around with it, but I cannot figure out if it can help in this scenario or not. If someone knows of a tutorial, or can explain the setting I need to enable, please do let us know. There are a handful of quirky things that I will label as learning curve issues, but if I cannot figure out how to turn off all notifications other than the phone it may be a deal killer, which would be a shame for such a nice device.

 

[meshp1318]

Sync with google sync

My Question...

Importing Contacts...

I use a mac, but I also have a PC (without Outlook)

On the Motorola page it says to transfer contacts to outlook, then import, etc etc... Well this doesn't seem to be an option for me...

There is an option in the Blackberry desktop manager to switch devices. either to a new blackberry or another smartphone... Does anyone know if this will work on the Motorola Droid? I don't get mine till tues, but I reall don't wanna type a few hundred phone numbers, and emails all over again.

Thanks
Dan

I have already began preparing my transition from storm1 to droid which I receive tom thanks to this site. To answer your question I found the simplest method was one that was recommended elsewhere on this site namely if you have a google account and you should since the droid that droid works best with it. It's free simple easy etc etc etc. Anyway simply create a google acct if you don't have one if you do even better. Next download google sync on through your bb browser by visiting m.google.com/sync. This will allow you to sync your contact and calendar to your google account which you will be available for you to view online by viewing your contacts in your gmail acct but I digress. Fair warning it will sync the contact and then give an error message that sync failed to perform correctly I don't know why I get that message if I had to venture a guess it's that it doesn't sync my contacts' bbm pins which is fine since I no longer require them anyway my contact list is complete in its entirety and i can view them on the web. Now when you get your droid it is as simple as signing into your google account and the freaking droid like a syncing monster will bring all those lovely contacts with all those precious nuggets of info like cell, home, work, fax, email1, email2 whatever however the info you have on your contacts into your phone. It's that simple, no need for VZW to transfer numbers, backup assistant, BB desktop, or MS office outlook.... all you need is DROID baby. Man I can't wait and keeping up with the theme I'm naming it R3Po because I consider it to be the illegitimate child of one R2D2 and C3PO. Yes I am a nerd and proud of it!!!!!!!!!

 

[meshp1318]

Just a consideration

I have searched and searched as well for an answer to the profile/phone only questions. I do not think it is possible as of yet, which is killing me. I travel a lot and do business via email all over the world. I get emails all day, every day. The only thing that keeps me sane is the ability to set my BB to "phone only" when I go to bed. That way if the family needs to get me in an emergency they can while I do not have to listen to the hundreds of emails I am getting all day and all night.

This seems to be the ONE thing that is keeping me from committing to the Droid 100%. I love this damn thing... a lot!

I have downloaded Locale, and have played around with it, but I cannot figure out if it can help in this scenario or not. If someone knows of a tutorial, or can explain the setting I need to enable, please do let us know. There are a handful of quirky things that I will label as learning curve issues, but if I cannot figure out how to turn off all notifications other than the phone it may be a deal killer, which would be a shame for such a nice device.

Hey I noticed your post and though I can't help your query I saw that you mention you do business all over the world and have the need to receive email. I mention this only because from my understanding the Droid is not global capable since it only operates on VZW's CDMA/EVDO cellular network while the rest of the world operates GSM. I don't mean to be presume but if you were considering this as a replacement to your BB storm or another phone that you have that allows global capability it may not be worth you gettting this yet. Here's hoping they do make this badboy global ready on its next build

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

I have searched and searched as well for an answer to the profile/phone only questions. I do not think it is possible as of yet, which is killing me. I travel a lot and do business via email all over the world. I get emails all day, every day. The only thing that keeps me sane is the ability to set my BB to "phone only" when I go to bed. That way if the family needs to get me in an emergency they can while I do not have to listen to the hundreds of emails I am getting all day and all night.

This seems to be the ONE thing that is keeping me from committing to the Droid 100%. I love this damn thing... a lot!

I have downloaded Locale, and have played around with it, but I cannot figure out if it can help in this scenario or not. If someone knows of a tutorial, or can explain the setting I need to enable, please do let us know. There are a handful of quirky things that I will label as learning curve issues, but if I cannot figure out how to turn off all notifications other than the phone it may be a deal killer, which would be a shame for such a nice device.

Open Locale
Click Configure defaults
Add Default
Volume
Set Phone and Notification volume levels to what you would liek them to be for your normal day.
Escape


Add situation
Name it Phone only
Add condition
Time
Set times you want notifications to be silent
escape
Add setting
Volume
Set phone ringtone to desired level, set notifications to silent
Escape.

For example - I work crazy hours. I have my known schedule in my calendar. I use those calendar events as "conditions" to set my phone ringer as loud as it gets, notifications slightly less loud, screen dim, ringtones to something appropriate. I also have a setting that turns my Wifi and auto sync for gmail calendar and contacts on whenever the phone is plugged in. When I'm at work at my desk, I plug the phone in. It's loud enough to hear over everything else i have going on, fires up the wifi and keeps my personal contacts and calendar sync'd while power isn't an issue. Anything I do on my exchange account is auto forwarded to my google account, and in turn is sync'd to my phone. I don't even sync with exchange anymore, as I have a dedicated netbook for work that's always connected to the company network via broadband. I can still grab a quick glance at my phone to check my agenda, or fire off an email to an employee or other business contact seamlessly through gmail, even while sitting in the local Japanese Steakhouse slugging Mai Tai's and fried rice with the wife and friends. heck I even ordered some components the other day and had them sent same day air to Dulles while sitting on the toilet at Ruby Tuesdays at lunch.

If things stay slow here i may just write up a nice little how-to of using Locale. IMO it's the single best piece of software written for a mobile device. Hope this helped a little

 

[Dreded]

I should have been more clear. I don't travel outside the US. However, I recieve emails from Europe and Asia. The time difference is what makes the email notications in the middle of night anoying.

That being said, the sooner they make this a global phone the better!

 

[Dreded]

I am all over this, thanks! I will give it a go and let you know! Thanks for the info!!

**Edit**

I went in and did everyting you said to do gbhil, but I cannot get it to work correctly. I treid to set the default as well and it does not take. NOt sure if I am doing anything wrong as I am following your example to the letter. Let me know if you have any thoughts. Thanks again for the info!

 

[TMH478]

I have searched and searched as well for an answer to the profile/phone only questions. I do not think it is possible as of yet, which is killing me. I travel a lot and do business via email all over the world. I get emails all day, every day. The only thing that keeps me sane is the ability to set my BB to "phone only" when I go to bed. That way if the family needs to get me in an emergency they can while I do not have to listen to the hundreds of emails I am getting all day and all night.

This seems to be the ONE thing that is keeping me from committing to the Droid 100%. I love this damn thing... a lot!

I have downloaded Locale, and have played around with it, but I cannot figure out if it can help in this scenario or not. If someone knows of a tutorial, or can explain the setting I need to enable, please do let us know. There are a handful of quirky things that I will label as learning curve issues, but if I cannot figure out how to turn off all notifications other than the phone it may be a deal killer, which would be a shame for such a nice device.

I do the SAME THING! That really bugged me about the Droid!!! So, I switched back to my Blackberry and my Droid is sitting in the box right now. I am really trying to figure out if this is going to work for me or not. Did you get this to work?

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

I am all over this, thanks! I will give it a go and let you know! Thanks for the info!!

**Edit**

I went in and did everyting you said to do gbhil, but I cannot get it to work correctly. I treid to set the default as well and it does not take. NOt sure if I am doing anything wrong as I am following your example to the letter. Let me know if you have any thoughts. Thanks again for the info!

Hmm. i was certain Locale worked with 2.0 . Anyone here using it and it's working?


In the meantime have a look here
profile | All | By date, Androlib, Android Applications and Games

I'm sure at least one of them has to be 2.0 ready.

 

[MrBlippy]

Hmm. i was certain Locale worked with 2.0 . Anyone here using it and it's working?

I have been using Locale v0.692 beta on my Moto Droid and it is handling my "Night" and "VIP Callers" profiles wonderfully!

 

[bitman]

I should have been more clear. I don't travel outside the US. However, I recieve emails from Europe and Asia. The time difference is what makes the email notications in the middle of night anoying.

That being said, the sooner they make this a global phone the better!

I am in the same situation and use a pop email account. Before bed I go into the email account settings and change the email check frequency to never. I then change back to desired frequency in morning. Very simple and my wife doesn't get awaken by an email from overseas.

 

[fresh#AC]

does Gtalk have "push notification" like BBM?

I have looked around quite a bit and have not found much info. I am in the market for a new phone, my first smartphone and was wondering if Gtalk on the Droid works similar to BBM for the blackberries. Does Gtalk have "push notification" like BBM does enabling the app to be turned off and still alert you of new messages? Any info on this would be really helpful, thank you.

 

[thenewnoise]

I got the Incredible and have been using Quick Profiles from the market. It's not as good as BB profiles but its doing the job. At night I can set everything to mute except the phone. that way emails and texts don't wake me up.