Logistical questions about move back to Android

[tpapictures]

A few years ago, I was on Android from Froyo to Ice Cream Sandwich and then eventually the desperate need for real MS Office integration and not QuickOffice or DeskStuffProSortaLikeOfficeButNotEvenClose apps took me back to Windows where I had been for years and years before Android. The point is that I've been on Windows Phone for about four years now and a dysfunctional buggy OS, not at all app issues, has brought me back to Android. All this is to simply say I know what to expect about the basics of the Android UI though I haven't been on Android since 2013. So my questions if anyone can help me out...you'd be surprised how many of these things aren't properly covered anywhere.

1. Being fully entrenched in MS's cloud and applications, is it possible now to bring my MS login to the Android phone and have my contacts sync? Or am I forced to use gmail for contacts? I got so used to having my phone contacts sync flawlessly with my Windows laptop, desktop, and tablets I'd hate to lose that but if it's the only way, so be it.
2. I don't use ANY Google applications whatsoever, not even search. I have my own private email server and have no interest in Gmail. Does anyone know if the OneNote, OneDrive, and Outlook function just like on a computer now? This didn't exist when I last used Android. The Outlook app was only for if you had an Outlook, Live, or Hotmail mail and not for personal IMAP servers.

Thank you!

 

[Aquila]

There is a way to get your contacts to sync - if you install Outlook you can then sync your Outlook contacts to the device and tell the contacts app to display your Outlook contacts. It's not a direct one to one like using a Windows phone would be, but it gets the job done. Otherwise, you can upload to gmail, yaddayada, you probably know how to do that.

Outlook supports IMAP, 365, Outlook.com, Exchange, Yahoo, Gmail and iCloud. OneNote and OneDrive I've never used and I've been struggling pretty hard to get them out of Windows 10 on PC with no luck so far. So I'll defer to someone else on those

Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc. are actually pretty decent and they've also created Arrow Launcher, which apparently brings some of the Windows look and feel?

 

[tpapictures]

It's not a direct one to one like using a Windows phone would be, but it gets the job done.

By not a direct one to one do you mean that it brings in your Outlook contacts but then turns them into Google contacts? Because I suppose I wouldn't mind that. I will be after all on an Android phone.

 

[Aquila]

By not a direct one to one do you mean that it brings in your Outlook contacts but then turns them into Google contacts? Because I suppose I wouldn't mind that. I will be after all on an Android phone.

I mean that it is syncing through Outlook, rather than through the microsoft account directly. So Outlook will need to sync with your microsoft and Outlook will sync with the device and so both of those syncs have to work well in order for it to feel seamless.

 

[aximtreo]

Take a look at a PC app called Akruto. It allows the synching of email, contacts, calendar and tasks between the Windows PC and the android equivalents. I've used it for the past four years and like it a lot.

It works two way for WP, Apple and android devices.

Cost about $30 but is updated to the latest OS from each vendor soon after introduction. It synchs wirelessly for Windows and iPhone. If you have a Samsung phone, you can use direct USB connect to sync and won't need Akruto. I use Office 10 on my laptop and it works great.

 

[11B1P]

Hey tpapictures,
It's been a couple weeks now. How was the transition to Android? I'm fully invested in the Windows ecosystem. The only thing Google I use is youtube, and that's on my pc.

Am I going to have any issues staying with the Windows apps, while on an Android phone?

I've got gmail, but anything that goes there is just forwarded to my Live.com address. My business email is an outlook.com address and don't really want to change.

 

[treetopsranch]

If you want to use Excel on an android device, some have reported that some things don't work like they do on a Windows PC. Excel macros for instance, may not work correctly or at all. For limited use of windows spreadsheets, I use the free Hancom app on my Samsung 12.2 inch tablet